Oh, Canada! My home and native land…

Many of you know I am half Canadian. My father was born in Macklin, Saskatchewan to Vernon and Violet. He had older sisters Valdeen and Virginia and eventually met his younger siblings Vaughn and Verna (born in the U.S.)!!! His family emigrated to the United States when he was young, but they did not apply for citizenship until after my father became an adult. So, he had to naturalize himself.

I think one day I will become more serious about dual citizenship. Long ago I wanted it because Canadians could go to Cuba, and I just wanted to see it. Now, I love the idea of having two countries to love.

You’d think this post would be about my travels to my roots. It is not. Instead, I want to share about my ten year old niece who begged for me to take her on an “Aunt Becca trip”. (Yes, dual citizen aspirations and multiple naming options for myself—Reba, Becca, Rebecca…)

For years I had connections that allowed me to take my nieces and nephew on trips with inexpensive flights. They would choose the trip’s location, travel with me, and we would go. Adella previously chose Disney, but this year she found a book she loves—Anne of Green Gables. As a ten year old girl, I too fell in love with the books and dreamt of being Anne Shirley. I mean, Gilbert Blythe was nearly perfect, and Anne was just like me :).

Anyway, Adella called me and said, “Aunt Becca, if I get a passport, would you please take me to Prince Edward Island?” I instantly agreed. P.E.I. has been a bucket list location for me. Then, I waited for more action from Adella.

Adella tried bargaining with her parents. She promised she would go in “halvesies” with them. Could she please go with Aunt Becca on a trip? Would they let her go out of country??? Yes, they agreed on all counts. However, Millie (kid number 2) was on a senior trip in Scotland with her mother, and Adella would have to wait to get her passport.

Eventually, (weeks later), Adella finally applied. Her passport would arrive end of May at the latest, and that government notification gave me confidence to book our flight to Charlottetown, Canada.

Things started a bit rocky. I found tickets on United for the best price. Unfortunately, I had set up the frequent flyer account prior to booking any trips. When I did, I didn’t add my middle name, and the app would NOT let me add it.

I purchased the tickets first then realized the names wouldn’t match, so I reached out to United immediately. They assured me it was fixed. You might guess…when I checked in for the flight, my middle name was not included. So, I contacted them again. They assured me it was fixed despite the boarding pass not having my full name. Extra bonus headache: my TSA Precheck wouldn’t associate with my boarding pass because the names didn’t match. Thankfully, that was able to display on my boarding pass after the agent manually added my number. We will see if I have any trouble.

I want to add a little information about TSA Precheck. I figured I would have to go through the regular line because Adella does not have Precheck. However, children under 12 can get in the line with their Precheck adult. Yay!

To avoid kidnapping charges, I needed a note from mom and dad stating I had permission to take their child out of the country. Some sources state the signatures must be notarized. Others said it was not necessary. I asked my brother and sister-in-law to notarize them just in case. In addition, they had to provide copies of their passports and Adella’s birth certificate. I now have a travel packet ready to go.

For the last few days Adella has called me to check in. Her excitement has bubbled over. Sometimes she just calls and doesn’t have any information to share except, “I am SOOOOOO EXCITED!”

My favorite call was when she stated, “I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to bring a mechanical pencil on board, so I Googled it. Turns out, you can bring one, so I packed it.” Incidentally, she also packed her Diana Barry wig and dress. I can’t wait to take this girl on our trip! More to come…