Working Nights

Right now I'm on my rotation of nights at the hospital. I'm not actually working right now, but the joy of the night shift is that even on nights that I don't find myself in the ER, I often find myself awake late. It's actually easier to stay on a semi-night shift throughout the whole stretch so that my body doesn't get confused. I don't really mind the night shift. I've always been a bit of a night owl. In my "younger days" I was also an early morning person, which meant I didn't sleep very much. Now I'm "older" and need a bit more beauty sleep. Of course more is a relative term because now I get about 6 hours on average, compared to the 4 that I use to function on. I can still make 4 work when I have to, but I really prefer the 6. The ER is quite the interesting place at night. I often wonder what makes people get up out of their nice warm beds to make a trip out to the hospital in the middle of the night. I understand if a person thinks they're having "the big one" or is in horrible pain, but it's the minor things or the person that can clearly wait until the doctor's office is open in the morning, that really make me wonder. I confess that I have been a patient in the ER in the early morning hours twice, but both times it was because of kidney stones, and the first time I was forced.

I only have to work nights 1 1/2 weeks out of every 5, so I can't complain too much. Sometimes I would rather do the nights because my body is becoming less and less fond of having to get out of the bed at 630am for the day shift. It's not too bad when it's part of my routine and I do it every day, but when it's only now and then, it's a lot harder. At the end of my stretch of days, I work four in a row. By the last day, I'm just starting to get use to getting up early, and then I have 7 days off. Now I love having those 7 days off, even though I usually pick up a shift or two during that time, but it's still a bit irritating to finally establish a routine, just to have it broken.

I realize I'm not really saying much in this post, but I'm bored, and can't sleep therefore I blog. I can only check my e-mail so many times before even I will admit that I'm a bit OCD. Let's see what else is going one.... I made another trip back to Chattanooga. My house is still for sale (anyone want to buy it? please!). It ended up being a very emotionally draining trip for the most part. I won't take the time to go into the details because I'm still a bit perplexed by it all and need time to sort it all out in my head. At the beginning of the trip I had hoped to get some answers, and I ended up leaving with more questions than before. I've decided I'm going to volunteer some as medical staff this summer at Doe River Gorge (it's a christian outdoor adventure camp for those of your who aren't familiar with it). The idea hit me a bit late in the game, so they don't have too much of a need, but I still will be able to help out some. I think it will be fun and a neat way to use my medical talents. I'm also thinking about going on another medical mission trip in October. It would be with the same organization I went with 2 years ago (CMDA). It's also the same group leader and they're going to the same location. I'm praying about it and trying to figure out if I will be able to get the time off from work. I'd love to go again. It was a wonderful experience and I loved getting to be apart of the surgical team.

Coming attractions in my life include:
1. A trip to DC in 9 days to see three of my bestest friends- Valerie, Leah, and Jennifer. The 4 of us haven't all been together since about this time last year, and I can't wait. It's going to be a blast. Plus I like DC a lot and it's been a while since I made a visit there.
2. Both of my younger sisters will graduate in the next few weeks. Elizabeth from college, and Christine from high school. It makes me feel old. Especially when I remember that I graduated from college 5 years ago and high school 8 years ago. Where does the time go?
3. In June I'm going to Richmond to visit my college roomie Alicia, and see her son for the first time since his birth. I'm also really looking forward to it. I haven't seen her since the end of November and I am in need of some quality "therapy time" that only she can provide.

I wish I had more interesting things to blog about or at least some good ER stories, but this is my life right now, so I write what I know. My body may not be tired, but my brain is and it's emotionally taxed so I don't have the energy to be creative or funny at the moment.