Tomorrow night for the first time in a few years, my Breau clan will descend upon my grand-parents cottage at Caissie Cape, meters from the beautiful beach facing the Northumberland Straight. Since the last time we were all together, there have been a few additions to the family, most importantly the first two great-grand-children.
Some forty years ago, when my grand-parents built their cottage, they wouldn’t have been able to imagine what their family would look like, all these years later. My grand-parents who are in most regards, two typical Acadians (that’s definitely not a bad thing) from south-eastern New Brunswick, will be joined by their ever-diversifying kin and their partners.
On the beach tomorrow night, we’ll find our share of Acadians and Acadians-at-heart but also Francophones and Anglophones, New Brunswickers, Islanders and Ontarians, Non-Canadians, Canadians living abroad and Second-generation Canadians, academics, professionals, trade workers and students.
We don’t all look the same and we don’t all speak the same languages. We don’t all call New Brunswick home. And you know what? That’s okay, to all of us. Because we love being together, and learning about, and from each other. There may be a few teachable moments, like learning to play the spoons or getting familiar with traditional Acadian words (“qui’c’qui va grailler la table?”), but it’s all good. What’s important is that regardless of our backgrounds and lifestyles, we all feel at home and at ease sitting on the beaches of New Brunswick.
Nothing else matters. Or at least nothing will tomorrow night.
Is the rest of the province as open? Are our families? Our governments? Our businesses? If not, you have some catching up to do, because the Breaus aren’t looking back.
0 comments:
Post a Comment