Happy Canada Day!

I think that the whole sick-baby-induced-lack-of-sleep thing is finally catching up with me. My brain feels…numb today, and I’m having a really hard time coming up with a theme for a post. I mean, yes, it’s Canada Day, and I could go on and on about how much I love Canada – the natural beauty, the people, the freedoms. Blablabla. Or, for a change of pace, I could dwell on the things that I don’t love, the things that need to get better – the government, our commitment to the environment, widespread apathy. Meh. Fact is, neither of these is inspiring me right now to create something.

A photo I took waaay back of Maple leaves in the fall.

Hmm. What to do, what to do. So, what do you do when you’re at a loss such as this? Me, I usually reach beyond myself – into the past, my “inspiration stashes”, or even the interwebs. (I fear that if I tried to reach within myself right now I would merely end up falling asleep.) I briefly toyed with the idea of doing an updated Canada flag portrait, but really, I’m in no mood to play around with that sort of thing today. Funny how dealing with a snot-covered crying baby can sap that kind of fun right out of you. Plus, there’s just no time.

Playing with the flag on a camping trip years ago.

So, I looked at some photos, did a Google search for “Canada Day” (wow, people can sure be morons sometimes), dug out my journals. And I happened to stumble across this poem I wrote on a long ago trip to Vancouver Island.

Deep blue ocean. Pallor sky.
Variegated sand. And I.
Shadows cling to contoured land.
Waves extend a lucid hand.
Cedars reach where eagles soar.
Wisps of clouds guard heaven’s door.
Vibrant greens. Salt-textured air.
Driftwood staircase leads nowhere.
Fog rolls in as thick as dew.
Amidst it all, I think of you.

A little Dr. Seussian, but then again, most of my attempts at poetry are. 😉 And then it dawns on me… everything I create is influenced by my living here in Canada. My experience of being Canadian infiltrates every last thing I do, without any effort. Yes, other “worldly” events have impacted as well, but they are always compared to my life here, my history at home. How can I even try to separate the two?

It is about at this point that I start to lose all sense of making sense. So, I am off to spend some “nap time” actually napping with the baby in the hopes that we will both wake up later today in better health and moods. But I though I might leave you with one last Canadian creation, if you don’t mind, that is. (That’s just a little humerous Canuk politeness for you.)

The crabby baby on a happier day.

Little known fact – I first found out that I was pregnant with our youngest ON Canada Day, two years ago now. Nothing like walking along the block party parade route with a look of joyful shock plastered across your face. And while he may not have been physically created on that day, it will always be remembered as the first day he came into being, at least in my consciousness. One of my best creations ever!!!