Our prime minister is telling us to stay calm and carry on in the face of a Donald Trump presidency that is changing the values and political norms of the largest democracy in the world. It's hard to stay calm, and certainly the thousands of protesters who showed up for the women's march are not calm, they are angry.
South Deltans are carrying on, but not without some high anxiety. I can feel it when I meet my fellow dog walkers on my daily route and we stop for a chat. The "trail mix," as one dog owner calls us, is an eclectic group with a diversity of backgrounds and there's always room for political talk.
One women declares she's adopting a Trump Free Zone and draws an imaginary line around her body, refusing to engage with us. She quickly strolls ahead, throwing a stick for her dog.
She's not alone. Many of my friends can't take the relentless media coverage of a U.S. president gone rogue and have chosen to turn off the news and watch cat videos.
The men on our trail mix are much more ruthless in their scathing rhetoric about the new president.
A retired UBC education professor is emphatic, "Trump is a narcissistic psychopath," who scares him to his core.
My bus driver trail mixer is extremely well informed about U.S. politics and I hang on every word. He's dumbfounded by Trump's executive orders, which have the enforcement of U.S. law, and predicts instability in the world's economy and foreign relations.
It's 32.9 kilometres from Ladner to the U.S. border, 29 minutes on a good driving day. It's not hard to see how this huge superpower can consume our psyche and leave us feeling like we are being dragged along with Trump and his merry band of supporters.
My solace is that while we may be joined with the U.S. in innumerable ways, and, yes, we are each other's biggest trading partner, we are not American, we are Canadian. No wall necessary is in the north.
I am happy and proud to be Canadian and I feel it in my core. As my prime minister says, "Canada will stand strong for its values," and not be influenced by the decisions of other states. So let's carry on, stay calm and remember to enjoy our dog walks and all the wonderful advantages our precious little community has to offer.
I'll watch dog videos when I need to and express my dismay at decisions made across the border, but I won't allow Trump to affect my sleep patterns, my social interactions or my outlook on the world.
I am too much of an optimist to believe that a misogynistic egomaniac can upset my apple cart. I believe in a rosy future ahead in beautiful Beach Grove and I have apple pies to bake.
Ingrid Abbott is a broadcaster and writer who could never adopt a Trump Free Zone because sticking your head in the sand won't prevent the tide of change.
