I’ve never cared much for history lessons (unless there’s a
juicy conspiracy theory involved). I have vague recollections of charting
Ferdinand Magellan’s course on a map with a partner in grade 6, but other than
that I’m not even positive I took a history class in school. I figured
this wasn’t my great loss; history is often a biased account of events with too
many convoluted names and dates. And we don’t really seem to learn from
it anyway.
Oh,
England, sweet motherland, you changed my mind! Nothing could have
prepared me for the sentiment I felt when I first set foot on the ground of the
country in which my heritage is based. I
felt like I’d come home to a place I’d never been. These feelings stayed
with me throughout our time in England, surprising me with misty eyes at the
site of thatched-roof cottages and rolling landscapes alike. I found
myself completely enthralled in all the stories and drama surrounding the
castles and royal families of yesteryear. Every single guide we had in
England was just incredible and brought it all to life for me. However, my appreciation for England goes
much deeper than that.
My grandma was from England.
She died 8 years ago but there is still not a day that goes by where she
doesn’t cross my mind. My grandma and I
were very close and she was my hero and inspiration. If I can someday grow to be half the woman
she was, I would know I’ve lived a worthwhile life. She had such a vivacious spirit: as a retired
nurse, she continued to volunteer at the hospital until she herself became the
patient, she raised 7 kids on her own, travelled the world even in her 80’s, overcame
odds time and again, and she was selfless… utterly and completely selfless.
I’m sure most people have lost someone close to them, so this is probably a
very relatable sentiment: I hate that I can’t share stories with her and tell
her everything I’ve done in these past 8 years.
I hope she’d be proud. In
England, I was able to feel connected to my grandma again. Knowing I was walking the same streets she
used to walk brought me a sense of both comfort and awe. I felt like my present and her past were
colliding, outside of the constraints of time.
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My grandma and dad on their last trip to England (left).
Me standing in the exact same place this summer (right). |
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| The White Cliffs of Dover |
 |
Stonehenge at sunset
|
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| The medieval village of Canterbury. |
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| Me at the Roman Baths. |
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| My husband and I posing with Tower Bridge (my favourite bridge). |
