Today is the day Alberta celebrates Heritage Day and also my birthday. We don't do much for the Heritage Day part of the holiday. My favorite was that I didn't have to babysit any children today and mine were at the swimming pool for most of the afternoon. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed having the house to myself. It happens so rarely, I felt kind of lost for at least fifteen minutes. I got over it quickly, pulled out the laptop and worked for hours without any interruptions. So nice of the government to have a holiday on my birthday.
Anyway, about Heritage Day. I got to thinking about the heritage around me. I see it every day when I go to the post office and pick up the mail. This town was built over a hundred years ago and there are some great old buildings to remind me of that heritage. We lived in a hundred year old house for awhile and I still miss the character that infused the home. New houses just aren't built that way anymore.
I also believe Canada has a great heritage as does the United States. Since I have dual citizenship, I feel free to appreciate my heritage from both countries and like to think that I've taken the best parts of both of them. This is the heritage of my family. We have great stories I love to hear and traditions I love to take part in. I am actively trying to pass that heritage on to my children and trying to teach them to really appreciate where they come from.
One of my favorite ways to learn and teach my kids about where they come from is through old family journals and the family histories that have been recorded over the years. I'm sure many of those who kept the journals had no idea that 150 years later a grand-daughter would be reading their day-to-day thoughts, and finding them fascinating. I've kept my fair share of journals. Maybe someday my posterity will find some sort of fascination with my life.
Another heritage I hope to leave my family is my other writing. It may not be a journal, but everything I write contains part of me. Every story is a piece of my being put on paper for the world to examine. So since I did some writing today, I guess I did celebrate Heritage Day in my own quiet way.
2 comments:
Happy Birthday, and yes, everything you write and keep will be cherished by your posterity. My grandmother used to write poems, and her children eventually put them into a booklet and passed them around to other family members. Now, her poetry gives us added insight into her innermost beliefs.
Happy Birthday, Stephanie. I hope you had a wonderful day and I'm sorry my wishes are belated.
Heritage is a wonderfully power aspect of our lives, if we but understand it. Thanks for sharing with us about Canada's Heritage Day. It was fun to read.
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