In Which I Wear a Dress

On Saturday night I wore a dress.

For the first time in nearly two years.

I'm such a slacker when it comes to all things feminine.

But, our neighbour was celebrating his engagement, so I donned a dress and we went to join him. Along with every person he and his bride have ever met. Kidding. Sort of.

Our neighbour is Indo-Canadian and so we went to our first Sikh Ring Ceremony. There was a lot of food, lots of dancing and celebrating and the most beautiful saris I have seen in my life. I now want one. Except maybe not the bride to be's. Hers had to weigh a tonne it was so encrusted with bling. It was beautiful beyond measure, but that beauty would have come at a heavy price. Very heavy.

Being at the ceremony reminded me again why I love living in this city. We sat at a table with our neighbour's co-workers. There was a family from Guatemala, a Vietnamese couple, and a gentleman who immigrated from Hong Kong twenty years ago.

I am thrilled to be raising my kids in a city that isn't all white. They will learn about so many cultures and customs and all in their classroom just interacting with their friends.

My kids will learn early about racism. Not as an abstract concept but as something that greatly hurts their friends. It's hard to ignore something when it happens one desk over.

And that's the best learning of all.