Roots

I'm not from Canada originally. Yep, I'm a zeroth-generation Canadian! I have been extraordinarily fortunate to have family here in Canada; my sis, the kids and the close friends I consider family are more than I deserve.

I'm not having a very good day today, mostly because my passport application just got hung up at the local office. It's nothing major in the grand scheme of things and I'm sure it'll all get sorted out eventually. Having said that, I was queued up for an ungodly long time trying to get in and subjected to the rather labyrinthine governmental regulations that eventually decreed that no, despite my best efforts my documents were not in order therefore so sorry, but they cannot grant me another passport. So, I called the appropriate folks who are supposed to send me another copy of the offending document, this time with the proper phrasing and whatnot. This is a royal pain in the tush because I had explicitly asked the provincial rep in question if the document I had was the right one, and he said yes. Today, I learnt from his assistant that he was fully aware that the version I had won't pass muster but told me to go ahead anyway. If a corrected document isn't forthcoming posthaste, I shall be asking my solicitor to have a little chat with the provincial official. I hate doing that, not just because of the cost but because having a lawyer calling you about your transgressions tends to ruin both your day and night. However, I will do what I need to do and I do hope things will be resolved on their own without conflict.

The passport office folks were great - I am amazed and impressed at their understanding and compassion for a rather distraught version of me, which scares small children at the best of times. Their hands were tied and I understand that - they even went to the trouble of calling Ottawa for a senior case officer to see if the documental requirement could be waived. Alas the answer was no, and that was that. However, I understand that the senior case officer and the legal department is now aware of my file and I have no idea if that's good or bad. I've been a good little quiet inoffensive citizen, so I'm assuming I'm okay since I have nothing to hide. Still...not having a good day.

All this has made me rather melancholy and as my mind drifts as it is wont to under stress of this sort, I wondered what life would have been if my Dad hadn't sent me overseas. Did I miss much staying in Canada? Would I have done better had I returned to my birth country after finishing my studies? I don't think so. I'd have returned and been the dutiful child, producing heirs and whatnot. I love children but I would to be remembered more than just for producing children.

In any large old clan, family politics are inevitable. Being in Canada means I don't really matter to them, a fact both convenient and distressing. Unlike most of my family, I'm not all that interested in inheriting governance of that pit of vipers I call my uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. Instead, here I am in Canada about to embark on a new career as a manager, inheriting product governance of that peculiar herd of contentious cats called software developers! There is symmetry here and I'm sure humour as well. Not sure I'm up to exploring that today though.

I love Canada. I gained my citizenship years ago and it still fills me with wonder. I still stand up whenever "O Canada" is playing. I don't go out of my way to proclaim that I'm Canadian but if I'm asked, I will proudly state that I am. When I was living in the US, one of the things I truly missed was Tim Horton's coffee, as cliched as it may be. I love our multicoloured currency and odd two-part coins. I love the fact that as a nation, we have rarely shirked from doing what is needed but always modest enough to keep our mouths shut when we're done.

Yes, I have left behind almost my entire family back in my birth country...but I love the new one here with all my heart. I am glad that my sister's children will grow up here, where there are better and fairer opportunities. Ultimately that is what counts, since *they* are the future and I am now the past. It's strange to go from budding leaf to anchoring root in the family tree in just a few decades. But...it is good soil that I am setting the family roots in - rich, earthy, nourishing, good, honest soil. The family shall continue here in this land that I call home as did many others before me have. I hope that we shall make Canada proud. But quietly, for we are Canadian. :)


UPDATE: The provincial official has faxed me the corrected document today. I understand his entire staff scrambled to get it ready so fast. A part of me feels guilty for causing all this work. Then I remember that, oh wait, *he's* the one who assured me *twice* that the original document was sufficient. I don't feel so guilty about him anymore but I still feel bad that his staff had to scramble. :(