Last Thursday our fatherland turned 93… As inappropriate as it is, I dare to doubt did it actually (sorry Kalev for stealing your idea)? I’ve always wondered where we really should consider the beginning of our independence from. Being occupied for 50 years wouldn’t really count for owning a sovereign country, right? Since we never find an answer to that question, supposedly, I’d better focus on more relevant topics.
So how did I spend that very remarkable day? To begin with, by the time I woke up in my cosy bed at Pärnu, the parade had already finished. It was just like every other day, except that I didn’t go to school. I even was a bit annoyed because all the places were closed (I wanted to meet up with an old friend I hadn’t seen for ages). However, my grandmother who lives just a couple of houses away from our place visited us and brought a tasty, freshly cooked cake. I guess that besides watching TV, visiting your grandparents is the best thing to do on that day: they are the ones who literally have been fighting for the independence of the country with their bare hands ( I remind the stories of my great grandmother who is almost as old as Estonia at this point).
Eventually, I didn’t follow the parade, nor did I watch the reception at Estonia’s concert hall. I only listened to President’s speech repetition the other day. It turned out I had missed all the patriotism-mania that took place, didn’t I?
Definitely NOT! I think Independence day just carries a different meaning for me, a much more practical one. I very much got inspired by Sven Mikser’s speech that we heard at school the day before. He clearly was considered about the future of our country and what will be the best decisions for us in the future, rather than making big words and retelling the victorious events of Estonians in the past. I think this is what we all most importantly should be doing on such events. Only then, we will also be to benefit from the past experiences.
Pardon me for being so distracted, it’s due to the late hour 🙂