Words to live by from Britt Blaser (who's a Vietnam Vet and therefore knows a bit more about war than most of us):

QUOTE

The Iraqi war was a catharsis, not a strategy, the equivalent of kicking the dog after a bad day at the office. Does my analogy belittle the agony of all those families? Think about it rationally: our problem was in witnessing all that agony all at once, so dramatically, and dwelling on it for months. It built a dangerous list in our heads. Every life is precious but most end badly, with tubes and machines and grieving relatives around us. Multiply the affect surrounding those individual deaths times 3,000 and it's probably the same as 9/11.

Living fully and free is more important than a specious guarantee of domestic tranquility. The list of blessings in an open heart trumps the list of threats in a timid head. Our spirit is destined to celebrate the universal dignity of life and keep the hope that tomorrow, everywhere, can be a renaissance of understanding.

UNQUOTE

Here's where I am coming from: I am not a 'real'  NHL fan.  I watch hockey only during the playoffs because the regular season is boring and much much too long. But I did play hockey from the time I was 6 until 16.  I loved playing hockey.  Even today, the sound of blades on freshly Zambonied ice is one of the most wonderful sounds in the world to me.  I was the smallest kid on the team and I loved to hit and throw  body checks but I was so small that I don't think anybody noticed or I could possibly have hurt anybody!

I quit because I couldn't stand how the overly competitive parents of the other kids transmogrified a fun game into a win at all costs battle.  And we weren't even playing competitive hockey.  I played in the lowest level house league!

Having said that, I think both Todd Bertuzzi and the NHL need counselling.

Both seem to be a bit off.

The NHL is the only professional sport where fighting is tacitly condoned? Why? In my opinion, there is no reason why  in 2004.   The only possible reason could be because of the hockey culture of violence is so ingrained that like an addict, it doesn't see that it's time to give it up.

Todd Bertuzzi is a gifted player who obviously needs anger management counselling for abusing the magnificent physical attributes that nature has blessed him with.

What's my armchair quarterback prescription for the NHL?

Easy, get rid of the hockey culture of violence and make the game more entertaining!

First and foremost, enforce the rule book.  Whether it's the pre-season, the regular season or the Stanley Cup Game 7, enforce the rules at all times!  Ban fighting by having an automatic game misconduct for fighting.  And automatic penalities for stick work above the knees.  Finally,  get rid of the rule where a penalty is cancelled if the other team scores.

I really don't have suggestions about making the game more entertaining.  I don't watch enough NHL games to have any insight into why the games are so boring! But anything that increases the flow of the game such as getting rid of the red line should be considered.

I've been working in the pregnancy field for over 10 years now and I've supported women with all types of pregnancy symptoms and experiences.  I consider myself pretty lucky with my own pregnancy...no nausea, no aching back, no headaches, good appetite.  I have, though, developed carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

CTS during pregnancy is generally caused by fluid retention/edema especially around the wrist.  The edematic tissues put extra pressure on the carpal tunnel through which a nerve to the hand runs.  I'm just one of those lucky women whose bodies is holding lots of extra fluid!

Up until now, I hadn't known of anyone who had developed pregnancy induced CTS.  I started to experience the tell tale symptoms in mid-December--first it was slight numbness in the thumb and first 3 digits of one hand, then in both hands, then a burning sensation running up my one arm.  Worst of all, this happened at night while I was trying to bank on precious sleep.  During the day, though, my hands were fine.

So I resorted to sleeping wearing wristguards and have been, for the most part, able to sleep without having to wake to a burning arm. 

Of course, things have gotten worse and my hands have developed numbness all throughout the day.  It's not usually painful, just numb and annoying.  I've tried almost all the "remedies" out there and nothing seems to help.

I'm a very tactile person and I've always used and depended on my hands a lot.  So not being able to feel things is affecting me in profound ways.  It has definitely slowed me down:  I can't type as fast or accurately (what key am I pressing?), I can't cook quite like I used to (hmm...I can't feel my hand...time to put the knife down), I've lost some hand strength (is my climbing career over?), and I've had to become more dependent. 

I believe that every pregnant women encounters a challenge during her 9 months.  CTS is mine.  I'm not complaining, things could be much worse and I'm still maintaining that it's better than the nausea I could've had.  I know it's temporary and there's a lesson for me in this challenge.

I am not a woman and will therefore never experience both the pain and the accompanying joy of labour and child delivery.

I respect the right of choice.  So if some women want an Elective Caesarean Section (ECS), that is their choice and their right.

But, it wouldn't be my choice.  I think for some people, ECS should stand for Extreme Control Syndrome.  An ECS is symptomatic of our Western desire to control everything right down to the birth date of our children.  But life (and children) is just not like that! You cannot control everything!

For me, parenting is not about control.  I think the best parents are not controlling; instead they give a meaning to and help harness the flow of their children's lives rather than controlling them.

This is not easy! And what do I know since I am not a parent yet?

We'll see how easily my idealism translates into action in the coming weeks after the baby's birth!

Hello, it's our first official post to this blog and my last official day at work before my maternity leave!!  A new beginning for us.

I'm looking forward to my days of motherhood ahead but not to facing all the work I need to do to finish handing off all my work responsibilities and saying 'Ciao' to my team.