Dear Younger Fred… one day you'll understand the sacrifices your parents made...
Yes, I know… it's Wednesday instead of Thursday. But I think Canada Day is a pretty fair excuse... 🙂
You're about two years old in this photo, watching your parents be sworn in as Canadian citizens.
At the time, you'll have no idea what you're witnessing.
You won't understand the years it took to get there.
The uncertainty.
The sacrifices.
The language barriers.
The jobs they took simply to get started.
Being janitors at the local university.
Picking up any work they could find.
Working in Chinese food restaurants.
And eventually working at Overwaitea for the next 30+ years.
The courage it takes to leave behind everything familiar and begin again in a place where almost everything is unfamiliar.
You'll just know your parents are proud.
One day, as you get older, you'll finally understand why.
For so many immigrant families, the dream was never just about themselves.
It was about the next generation.
It was about giving their children opportunities they never had.
A safe place to grow.
The freedom to dream.
The chance to build a life with more choices than they ever imagined possible.
Looking back at this photo today, I don't just see a little boy.
I see two parents carrying hope.
Hope that every sacrifice would be worth it.
Hope that one day their children would understand why they left everything they knew behind.
Hope that the life they were building would become the foundation for generations to come.
Younger Fred…
Some of the greatest acts of love don't look like grand gestures.
They look like a home cooked meal.
They look like working long hours.
They look like missing home while trying to build a new one.
And perhaps that's why so many children of immigrants spend the first half of their lives benefiting from sacrifices they don't yet understand…
Only to spend the second half finally appreciating them.
To every parent who came to Canada with a suitcase, a dream, and the courage to begin again:
Thank you.
Your children may not fully understand your sacrifices today.
But one day, they will.
And when they do, they won't just see the life you built.
They'll see all the love that built it <8.
Happy Canada Day!
Proud to be Canadian!
Stay curious,
Fred
