I have been working for almost 20 years – off and on – with research, policies and public programs to support immigrant integration.  And I wonder what opportunities and hardships await for newcomers to Canada in 2019 compared with my grandparents in 1900?   If they could speak with each other across the ages, what hopes and dreams would they share?

Pioneering Across the Ages

Eyes move forward 

upward   downward

    … the spirit stirs within.

Hopes release from our hearts

    … not knowing that something good will happen

            but that something good can happen.

Dreams

funny things   fuzzy things

    … real things.

Emotions jumble and tumble to the surface

    … scramble to get out

            exciting   arresting   bracing

Motioning toward a place we’ve never seen

            toward an experience we’ve never encountered

    … a small lump lingers in the throat.

Life new or anew

    {                  }

… there is no going back.

Cultivating a new home

            with new hopes and new dreams

    … courage, integrity and perseverance   our tools for survival.

Gifts and legacies

    … life, laughter, disappointments, devotion

            Loving and letting go