YORKTON – Weather on Thanksgiving this year was generally lousy, reminding us that winter is far closer than most of us would like.
Yet the cold, windy, snowy weather was rather ideal for sitting inside with a warm sweater on, and a cup of apple cider, tea or coffee at hand, and reflect on all we have to give thanks for.
It’s not always easy to be positive about things these days – maybe it hasn’t been for years as the day is sandwiched between Truth & Reconciliation Day and Remembrance Day – days that remind of two great sadnesses as a nation.
Truth & Reconciliation reminds of one of our country’s darkest times in terms of how we have treated others in this country.
The very concept of striping children from their families, taking them to residential schools, and systematically attempting to strip them of their cultural identity was deplorable from the outset.
That many were also forced to suffer mental, physical and sexual abuse at the schools is criminal.
Remembrance Day of course focuses on the wars Canada has bravely fought, but also the ridiculous loss of life, the bombing of civilians, the fascist death camps of Hitler, the devastation of large chunks of the world through far too many conflicts.
And it doesn’t seem at times to be getting better.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine and we see the death and destruction of another war – this time mirrored half a world away in Gaza.
The scars of residential schools remain.
And too many still suffer abuses.
It seems a very dark world.
But we should also remember and give thanks through the wars Canadians have fought bravely to quell evil and to protect rights we have in Canada many in the world barely dare to dream of having.
It is a legacy our veterans should always have had pride in, and while most are gone from the great conflicts we need to carry that pride as a nation and give thanks they persevered for our future.
And in Truth & Reconciliation we are in the midst of a process of finally coming to terms with the dark reality. Processes are in place to collectively address the hurt, to work on better healing the scars, to create a better future for all. That too is worth giving thanks for.
It takes effort to look into a mirror and see the country’s darker shadows, and thankfully we are working to address those shadows.
So maybe the core thanks Monday should have been simply for Canada.
We are a nation which has scars and bruises, but Canada has endured and in 2025 it remains a country better than most and thankfully it is where we can freely look toward a brighter future yet to come.
