JB flies the Canadian flag a couple of times a year – on his father’s birthday and on Canada Day. Today is a very special day for our friends down the road and across the Ambassador Bridge because they are celebrating 150 years since the federation of their country.

Bravo, Canada. We are proud of you – you have a lot of class. You feel like the next door neighbors who are like family, who are invited to special parties, who we celebrate holidays with. We have visited your special places often over the years and look forward to visiting Nova Scotia again in late summer. We always feel welcome when we cross into your land and have experienced countless acts of kindness during our visits.

JB and I feel a special kinship with you that runs deep in our souls. Many of our visits have been to the area where JB’s father was born and raised. I have often wished that his father hadn’t denounced his citizenship to become a U.S. citizen. It would have been nice if JB would have been granted duel citizenship when he was born. Funny how, because I love JB so much, I share his special heritage and experience his kinship with Canada.

But our ties to Canada have grown more special in the past few years because several of our Florida neighbors live in Ontario and winter with us. I’ve been thinking about them over the past few day and today decided to write this post for them, especially the Nash and the Welch families.

Today we received a surprise package in the mail from our Canadian neighbors, Don and Jackie. Jim loves the hat with the big, red Maple Leaf, Don, and we are both eager to use the Parks Canada Discovery Pass on our travels in a couple of months. And maybe the most special gift for Jim – a postcard from the Segwun, the steam boat we booked passage on a couple of summers ago. It was addressed to “An Honorary (not Ornery) Canadian – JIM.” That makes both of us smile big! We miss you, too.