Post-tour cocooning and autumn reflections
There is something exciting about travel and we’ve done a fair bit of it this year. It’s hard to believe it was a year ago that we embarked on the first of three tours. And I admit, I wish we could tour much more. (For those interested, we’re looking into 2026.)
And yet, there is also something to be said about coming home and being part of the fabric of the community and the drill of everyday life.
Once I resurfaced from our final date in Milan on July 26th, I returned home to my garden which thankfully had been maintained by a couple of lovely ladies from Ukraine. The beans and tomatoes produced a bountiful harvest and we even got to canning almost 35 litres of tomatoes, some from my garden and the rest from a local market producer.
September was busy with a few family birthdays and the mounting of displays and activities at the Falstaff Family Centre in preparation for The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As usual, it was a time for reflection on the history of Indigenous people here on Turtle Island (North America) and the calls to action which came out of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission between 2008 and 2015. We were also blessed here just last week with an inspiring presentation by Robin Wall Kimmerer, the Indigenous author of Braiding Sweetgrass.
Several weekends ago it was Canadian Thanksgiving and I found myself hosting a big potluck dinner with some Ukrainian guests, while glancing out the window at some of the most glorious colours of maple trees I’ve seen in many years. Thanksgiving has always been held high in my calendar, so much so that I’ve steered tours and studio dates around it so I can be home sharing this time with family and friends.
Last weekend, my family and I worked alongside many others in the planting of 10,000 trees at Rouge National Urban Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America. Digging and planting all morning long, there were dogwood and coniferous seedlings waiting to be nestled into the soil. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s words were still ringing in my ears. She argues the earth and the natural world it supports are all animate beings and we should regard them as kin. Waterways, forests and fields, rocks and plants, plus all creatures from fungus and falcons to elephants deserve our care and respect. As I placed each little seedling into the soil that will now become its home, I thought of their legacy and the impact they’ll have on future wildlife and climate change.
Now, we’re busy preparing for the Nov. 11th Remembrance Day service in Stratford. My team of colleagues, Errol, Mark and Henry, help with the preparations in conjunction with the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. My contribution on that day will be to sing O Canada, our national anthem.
Just a few weeks ago, I was asked to speak at the Legion to commemorate National Veterans’ Week and to share some of my experiences as the former honorary colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force. On Nov. 6th I’ll be speaking at a local high school.
And of course, I, like many others, have sought to find the balance between being fixated on the state of our world – climate change, wars, human rights and democracies – and acknowledging each of us can only do so much. And yet, I am equally reminded that it can be the accumulation of singular efforts which may ultimately bring about change.
I am more convinced than ever after meeting people from across so many countries, cultures and religions over the 30-plus years of my career, that there is more to bind us together than should be tearing us apart. We all seek to be loved, to belong. We all need equality and liberty, the security of food and housing, and a path for self determination.
Our first step in rediscovering our commonality might just be to turn off our social media and have tea with a stranger. You’d be surprised how much we are the same.
~LM