I. Am. Canadian. ... Day 4

Slightly over one year ago, you may recall that in short order I lost my passport, birth certificate, certificate of birth abroad and driver's licence. 

I had to fly to India this year on a temporary passport, which arrived just in time for me to apply for my visa entry to India; even so, the visa had to be couriered to me, arriving the day before we flew.

I had applied for proof of my Canadian citizenship, or a duplicate of my certificate abroad ... Actually, I'm not sure what I ended up applying for, as my application became rambling and confused even to me.

It was not really much of a surprise when I received a notice in the mail at the beginning of April that my situation was complicated and would take longer than six weeks to resolve; "please be patient."

For the first six weeks I was patient; for the next six I was apprehensive. And then, with the busyness of summer, it slipped out of my head altogether.

This evening BA brought my mail. Under the Alberta Views magazine, a card from my aunt and utility bills was a large manilla envelope with no identifying marks on it.

I opened it almost as an afterthought, and this is what it disclosed:

There were, of course, the inevitable restrictions and cautions:

(I guess it's good that I'm not planning on having children any time soon ...)

BUT - this is the first time I have had a Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, and I feel even more Canadian today! I am so very grateful that I received it during October - a reminder to be thankful, amid so many blessings, that I am a citizen of the best country in the world.

Even if this world is really "not my home," as the children's Sunday School chorus goes, I'm happy I happen to belong to "the True North strong and free" while I'm here. And my heart and thoughts and prayers go out to people who happen to belong to countries where they do not have the freedoms I enjoy and all too often regard so lightly. Notice even the French, which acknowledges my freedoms as a woman (interestingly, the French word citoyenneté is actually a feminine noun!). Just this week I was appalled at an advertisement in a catalogue that cut the woman out of the picture in the edition for Saudi Arabia. How awful.

And thank you, Minister Jason Kenney, for that signature on the bottom right hand corner of my certificate. My Dad often says that complete knowledge is when "you know that I know that you know." I feel this particular saga has now come full circle.

Oh yes - my sisters have all my official documents in safe keeping!