I thought I was a lifer...
When I was hired as a nurse back in 2002 I took a Night-shift position.
It was 8 hours (11pm-7:30am), 7 shifts every two weeks and every other weekend.
I never did a day shift rotation once I was done with my orientation.
Nights worked for me.
I loved the tone of the shift, my co-workers, the lack of extra management and family around.
Eventually I went to 12 hour nights (7p-7a) and got to do every third weekend.
After having BigBoy #1 I went casual.
I tried several different part-time combos with hours but in the end we liked it better with me home more.
Soon I was pregnant with BigBoy #2 and I remained casual status.
I will confess, I worked very little for those couple of years!
(and my seniority hours prove it!)
When the boys got a bit older I took a Per Diem position.
It's a glorified casual position that requires one weekend a month and 3 other shifts a month.
It also required me to work Days on my weekend.
I wasn't too keen on that as I had been comfy for a good many years on my Nights.
Unfortunately I hadn't been sleeping well during the day anymore so there was a little incentive to get used to the swing of Days.
And I did.
Turns out, it's nice waking in the morning, getting ready and going to work.
It's nice to not have to sleep during the day.
It's nice to not worry about when I'm going to get a nap in because I'm going to be up all night.
It's nice not to be nauseated the whole shift.
Then...
I got switched back to nights on my weekend!
I had gotten so used to the "normal-ness" of Days that I was a bit fussy about this new development.
This past weekend was my first weekend of Nights.
My sick kids saved me from having to work Friday night.
(Although perhaps it would've been nice to be paid to be up all night instead of up all night with my kids for free...)
At 10pm Saturday night I left my warm house to get into my chilly van.
The shift went well and I managed to stay awake on the way home.
I didn't sleep well during the day...no big surprise.
10pm Sunday, off to work I go.
A bit nauseated, a lot tired, in the end I did ok.
I slept like a baby Monday until Bri had to go to work.
The moral of this LONG story?
I thought I was a Night's Lifer but as it turns out, I'm really not so sure if my body will permit it.
I may come by this honestly.
Mom said my grandma would always call in sick if she had to work more than one night shift in a row.
Maybe it was a convenient excuse because she hated that shift.
We'll never know but maybe she was a little sick after being up all night- I know I am!
It was 8 hours (11pm-7:30am), 7 shifts every two weeks and every other weekend.
I never did a day shift rotation once I was done with my orientation.
Nights worked for me.
I loved the tone of the shift, my co-workers, the lack of extra management and family around.
Eventually I went to 12 hour nights (7p-7a) and got to do every third weekend.
After having BigBoy #1 I went casual.
I tried several different part-time combos with hours but in the end we liked it better with me home more.
Soon I was pregnant with BigBoy #2 and I remained casual status.
I will confess, I worked very little for those couple of years!
(and my seniority hours prove it!)
When the boys got a bit older I took a Per Diem position.
It's a glorified casual position that requires one weekend a month and 3 other shifts a month.
It also required me to work Days on my weekend.
I wasn't too keen on that as I had been comfy for a good many years on my Nights.
Unfortunately I hadn't been sleeping well during the day anymore so there was a little incentive to get used to the swing of Days.
And I did.
Turns out, it's nice waking in the morning, getting ready and going to work.
It's nice to not have to sleep during the day.
It's nice to not worry about when I'm going to get a nap in because I'm going to be up all night.
It's nice not to be nauseated the whole shift.
Then...
I got switched back to nights on my weekend!
I had gotten so used to the "normal-ness" of Days that I was a bit fussy about this new development.
This past weekend was my first weekend of Nights.
My sick kids saved me from having to work Friday night.
(Although perhaps it would've been nice to be paid to be up all night instead of up all night with my kids for free...)
At 10pm Saturday night I left my warm house to get into my chilly van.
The shift went well and I managed to stay awake on the way home.
I didn't sleep well during the day...no big surprise.
10pm Sunday, off to work I go.
A bit nauseated, a lot tired, in the end I did ok.
I slept like a baby Monday until Bri had to go to work.
The moral of this LONG story?
I thought I was a Night's Lifer but as it turns out, I'm really not so sure if my body will permit it.
I may come by this honestly.
Mom said my grandma would always call in sick if she had to work more than one night shift in a row.
Maybe it was a convenient excuse because she hated that shift.
We'll never know but maybe she was a little sick after being up all night- I know I am!
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