Nurse Audrey’s Stress Relief Blog

• Both teams were actually “underdogs” (second place in their conferences).
• Both overcame this handicap by beating the first place teams.
• Saskatchewan has not won the cup since 1989; Winnipeg since 1990.
• Both are from the prairies.
• Be prepared for a good old-fashioned, charged atmosphere across the country and a rock-em-sock-em game in Toronto.

Let’s take a leaf from the pages of their success

• You may feel like an underdog on your job, among your circle of friends, or in your own sporting game.
• Begin by remembering that “Everyone loves an underdog!” You don’t have to remain one for long.
• Identify your areas of strength and weakness.
• Change the way you view yourself.
• Believe in your ability to succeed (this can turn into positive motivation for your life).
• Act out your belief and watch others begin to believe in you too.
• Remember, you are what you believe.

But you don’t have to feel like one! Change the way you view things; see yourself as being successful in every endeavor; and don’t be a quitter!

   “Go Riders/Bombers” May the best team win!

Enjoy the game, and until next time this is Nurse Audrey signing off!

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we all pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, during peacekeeping missions, and still are in Afghanistan and Iraq.

If we do not remember the sacrifices made by those who have died in battle, their lives will be almost meaningless. They died doing what they believed in. They died for us, for their homes and families, and friends, for a collection of traditions that they cherished and a future they believed in; they died for freedom. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with our collective national consciousnesses; our future is their monument.

Here is some interesting information about Remembrance Day
http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/grief/grief05.html

The History of the Poppy

A writer first made the connection between the poppy and the battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century. The writer remarked that fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.

During the tremendous bombardments of the First World War the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing ‘popaver rhoeas’ to thrive. When the war ended the lime was quickly absorbed, and the poppy began to disappear again.  After John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields was published in 1915 the poppy became a popular symbol for soldiers who died in battle.  Three years later an American, Moina Michael, was working in a New York City YMCA canteen when she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died on the battlefield.

During a 1920 visit to the United States a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom. On her return to France she decided to use handmade poppies to raise money for the destitute children in war-torn areas of the country. In November, 1921, the first poppies were distributed in Canada.

Thanks to the millions who wear flowers each November, the little red plant has never died. And neither have the memories of the thousands of brave soldiers who have, and continue to fight for our freedom.

The story of soldier Gordon Cameron
http://www3.sympatico.ca/berdusco/gord1.htm

May we all take time on Monday November 11th to remember!

See you next time, Nurse Audrey signing off!

I don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember when Halloween was more fun than it is today? Years ago we lived in a small town, and because we did not have a large mall or other amenities that our young people feel they cannot live without today, we often created our own Halloween fun. Those were the days when a trip to the toilet meant going to the old outhouse which usually contained a two-holer, one for mom and one for tot.

These specific buildings gave us a wonderful idea for a trick on Halloween night. “Why not turn over an outhouse?” This idea was met with a resounding “Yes!” from my three compatriots. The procedure of disengaging the outhouse from its moorings would take the strength and agility of all four of us, for if we did not watch our footing, the trick would have definitely been on us! Accompanied by my three partners in crime, we waited till dark and then picked out the outhouse belonging to the person we most wanted to target. Stealthily, we crept to the building. After sizing it up, we put all four sets of hands on the front door and pushed with all our might. Slowly, the building creaked over its most important contents. Finally, with one last push, it fell onto its back, exposing the dark contents below. Needless to say, with the trick completed, we were out of there in a flash to collect the rest of our treats.

We could hardly wait to get to school the next day! As we approached our one room schoolhouse, we could see a group of kids in deep conversation. “I’d like to get the people who pushed over our outhouse; I almost fell into the hole.” This coming from the poor kid whose outhouse we had targeted. Looking innocent while stifling our laughter, we kept our little secret while thinking of who we could target next year.

Yes, it seems like all of the fun has gone out of Halloween!

P.S. I have changed a lot since then!

Until next time, this is “Nurse Audrey” signing off.