12 October 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

It wouldn’t surprise anybody if I say that Sophia is at the top of my “what I am thankful for” list. She truly is a wonderful blessing. Of course, Ed would be a close second. He’s been very supportive at home and is taking to fatherhood very well. And to round up our little family, I am also very thankful for our cats, Bob and Neo, who always provides me such comfort and companionship (even when I have a lot less time and attention for them these days).

I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving. It was only when my family moved here to Canada that I got introduced to this holiday. And one of the things I will always be thankful for is the opportunity given to me by my parents to live here in Canada. Since I am an immigrant, I will always have something else to compare life in Canada with. And we really, really have it good here in this country.

As an example, the day after we came home from the hospital with Sophia, the community nurse came to our house to check up on us. There were a couple more follow-up visits and then follow-up phone calls to make sure I am doing alright. There is a 24-hour baby hotline that I can phone to ask the nurses any questions about baby care. And at the community centre close to my house, there are weekly parent/infant sessions (and they are free) where we can learn about baby nutrition, immunizations, infant developement, etc. Support like this does not exist in the Philippines! So I am very grateful that these support measures are in place for moms and I am very grateful to live in a city that have these things in place.

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