It's Monday morning of the long weekend and everyone is still asleep. The sun is shining through the blinds and the house is quiet. I love this time of the morning. Everything is so fresh and new.
We had a great long weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon at the BC Highland Games. The Scottish blood must run deep in my veins because I can't get enough of the music, the dance and yes, even the pipes. That sound of the bagpipes approaching is just so soul-stirring. I thought of my dad so many times during the day. He loved his Celtic roots with a passion. I grew up hearing all the stories and the songs. We traveled to Scotland when I was 7 and again when I was 17. My dad was like a big kid both times. He just couldn't get enough of the sights and sounds. As we traveled on the boat to the Isle of Skye, he sang (much to my embarassment as a teen) "...carry the lad, that's born to be king, over the sea to Skye". As we toured Loch Lomond, he sang, "I'll tak the high road, and ye'll tak the low road and I'll be in Scotland afore ye....for me and my true love will never meet again, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond". I heard both of those songs again Saturday! It was a great event with all the regular fare, like face painting, cotton candy and balloon animals so the girls had a great time too.
Speaking of Scottish culture, I may sign the girls up for Highland Dance lessons this fall. They really want to dance and have wanted to for some time now. I always hesitated to sign them up for the dance classes their friends attend because I can't get past the "slinky" costumes, moves and music. I think it would be good for them to be exposed to some kind of dance and after talking to a teacher at school, who is going through the same dilemna, I think I may investigate. It's only a one hour slot per week. I have no expectations or aspirations for them to be competetive unless they really love it. I think it will be good for them just to have experienced that. Plus, it's a big part of their heritage.
Our church service on Sunday was really refreshing. We merged with the "House for All Nations" Indonesian based church that meets in our building. They led the worship and their pastor preached. The service was themed for our Multicultural Nation so we had flags from different countries displayed and heard from several church members who have left their countries for Canada. The highlight of the service was when two members of our church family from Columbia and their baby taught us a worship song in Spanish. It was a really upbeat song and their energy and love for the Lord just shone through. As I looked over the congregation, I was really moved to see so many races and ethnic groups represented. There is something very powerful about that. There is something even more powerful when I realize we are all members of God's family, regardless of our ethnicity. One of my favourite courses in University was "Multiculturalism and Anti-Racist Education'. I love the prof and she gave me so many great ideas. One of them that I have been intentional about was to expose your kids to many cultures...to have friends from different races and eat food from different countries. I have always bought the kids dolls with different colour skin and had books around about different cultures. I think it was cool the other day, when given the choice at the store, Maddie picked an Asian barbie, amidst the sea of blonde hair, blue eyed ones. One of Chelsea's favourites is a very dark skinned Bratz doll. I love that they eat sushi (California/BC rolls) and love curry. It is so amazing to live in this multicultural country.
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