This morning I got to thinking about what I'm going to miss once I immigrate to Canada in just over two months. Some of the things are going to be profound, no doubt - some, more everyday; but in thinking about them I'm realizing the scale of the adjustment I'll be making in my life.
The low-hanging fruit have to be family. I've lived near my mom and dad, brothers, sister, cousins all my life. Never more than an hour or so away. If something came up and I was needed, I could be there in a flash. That wont be the case soon. I expect to deal with a lot of feelings around not being here to help when called upon. I just wont be called upon. It's the same with friends...you just can't help but lose touch when you are 1750 miles away, and in another country.
I'm going to miss Seattle and everything familliar about it. I've lived in or near the city my entire life and I've been both a participant in and witness to its changes over the years. Now I won't be aware of these things. I'll become a time-traveler - a Rip Van Winkle. I'll awake every few months to a new city that I'll see as changing dramaticly while I'm away.
I'm going to miss America. Yes - that's right. I like this country a lot. But I am not insensitive to the fact that I will soon be what was best termed by Garrison Keillor as "illiterate in two cultures". I'll be learning Canadian culture and losing touch with American culture. While there's more and more in my mind to dislike in a country as profundly unjust as America, it is my home, and its highest ideals are some of the best that I hold.
More mundane things? Dick's Drive In...Frisco Freeze...the teryaki place down the street; the Vietnamese market; the view of the Olympic Mountains on a clear day across Puget Sound; the quiet of Pike Place Market on a weekday morning.
I am excited about the future. I love Toronto. But there's a lot I'll be missing here.
The low-hanging fruit have to be family. I've lived near my mom and dad, brothers, sister, cousins all my life. Never more than an hour or so away. If something came up and I was needed, I could be there in a flash. That wont be the case soon. I expect to deal with a lot of feelings around not being here to help when called upon. I just wont be called upon. It's the same with friends...you just can't help but lose touch when you are 1750 miles away, and in another country.
I'm going to miss Seattle and everything familliar about it. I've lived in or near the city my entire life and I've been both a participant in and witness to its changes over the years. Now I won't be aware of these things. I'll become a time-traveler - a Rip Van Winkle. I'll awake every few months to a new city that I'll see as changing dramaticly while I'm away.
I'm going to miss America. Yes - that's right. I like this country a lot. But I am not insensitive to the fact that I will soon be what was best termed by Garrison Keillor as "illiterate in two cultures". I'll be learning Canadian culture and losing touch with American culture. While there's more and more in my mind to dislike in a country as profundly unjust as America, it is my home, and its highest ideals are some of the best that I hold.
More mundane things? Dick's Drive In...Frisco Freeze...the teryaki place down the street; the Vietnamese market; the view of the Olympic Mountains on a clear day across Puget Sound; the quiet of Pike Place Market on a weekday morning.
I am excited about the future. I love Toronto. But there's a lot I'll be missing here.
This was beautiful. I know that when I get my turn to move to Canada, I'll miss those same things. San Antonio (texas) will always be in my heart, but I know I'll establish a new home. Hopefully in Edmonton, Alberta.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)