It’s another beautiful morning for this Remembrance Day in my community. The weather that has been part of this significant occasion over the years has exemplified what we’ve come to expect in November in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It’s a mix of some good, mostly bad and what can be truly ugly. Canadians have paid their respects at services across the country, standing in bitter cold, snowstorms and chilling rain.
This year, however, conditions will not distract those in this pocket of the country from the occasion’s solemnity as we are blessed with balmy temperatures and a cloudless sky. We can stand with bowed heads in silence, reflecting on the sacrifices of others without trying not to think about frozen fingers and toes. We can remember and we can also think about what we have gained by others’ losses.
Always on Remembrance Day I’m also given to reflect on the good fortune of being born in Canada. I’m proud of the country in which I live, yes. There is much to be proud of. However, in that pride I am able to find so much to appreciate about life here, from north to south, sea to sea. I have listed them before and a Google search would turn up most of the reasons anyway, so I will refrain from unnecessary repetition.
What I will say though, is like the weather here we are a country of endless variety and surprises.
So as I prepare to attend this Remembrance Day service, I think of the country I have been blessed to live in and offer these photos of her beauty:
