Dreams Really Do Come True

Never give up on a dream!

Let me tell you a little story. Back in the late eighties, some dear friends of ours moved to Canada. They used to call us, which was quite expensive, so they would send us faxes or letters saying how much they loved Canada and that we should come visit. When our first daughter was born, Gemma, in the fall of 1993, in October, we visited Canada.

We stayed for a month, celebrated Thanksgiving, and visited the Rockies experiencing all of the fall colours, and we really did love it.

In 98, when our third daughter was born, we thought we’d visit again. And we came a little bit earlier in the year and experienced the most incredible Canadian summer. 

And it’s one of those funny things. I knew in my heart this is where I wanted to live, but with children and everything and grandchildren, of course, it’s hard to sort of have that conversation. So Debbie and I were sitting in the airport, and she looked at me and I looked at her and she said, what? I went, what? I said, you know what? “This feels more like home than home”. She said, oh, I’m so glad you said that because I feel the same!

So we returned home and looked at what it would take to apply to emigrate and all the criteria. We put a lot of effort into making that happen. And in 2000, we applied. We had our interview at the Canadian High Commission in London in February 02. And, by, August 02, we were living here. And so almost 20 years from when we first came to Canada to arriving here. And now, 22 years later, we have become Canadian citizens. 

Could we have done that sooner? Absolutely. Should we have done that sooner? Of course. But life happens. 

Right? But it is never too late. Today is the day that we officially became Canadian citizens via Zoom with 131 other people from 31 different countries. It’s very, very cool.

So our message to you today is never give up on a dream.

If you feel something in your heart, in your gut, that you feel is just right, go for it with all your heart. And if it takes 10, 20, or 30 years, it’s still worth doing. My friends, I’m no longer a permanent resident of Canada. I am a dual citizen of Canada and the Isle of Man, which I’m very excited to be able to do. In a few weeks, we’ll get our Canadian passports.

We can travel again. But today, I’m just celebrating that life is what you make it, and you can make it whatever you want, provided you put enough effort into making that dream a goal and that goal a reality.

Where are you going?