A Night Nurse. Why?

I have been a night NICU nurse off and on for the last 3 years. Currently I am working nights, meaning I work from 6:30 pm to 7am the next morning. I think it's hard for the day working world to totally grasp this life unless you've experienced it. I think there is everything stacking up AGAINST working the night shift compared to the alternative. It is difficult to sleep during the day, it's difficult staying up all night, your temperature shifts at certain hours, your food usually doesn't digest well, it's extremely hard not to gain weight, most night shift workers have health issues, your first day off really isn't a day off because of the fatigue, you can't sleep well during the night on your nights off, etc. I could go on and on. BUT... there is a comfort doing the work I do in the middle of the night. There is a calmness and serenity being with a patient without all the hustle and bustle of the day's business as usual. Maybe it is more of the ambiance for me. The softer lighting to help a baby establish their days and nights, or the quieter room to hold a baby and talk to them in. Sometimes I can't believe I actually get paid to do what I do compared to other nursing positions. I choose to work nights because it helps me to be the type of NICU nurse that I want to be. I realize I won't be able to do this forever. But for now I cherish the night work.

Learning to Knit

I have a HUGE bucket list of things I want to learn! Knitting, or knitting well, is one of them. Some friends at work have been knitting like crazy. They have made some incredible items. Early one morning when I couldn't sleep I had a fabulous idea, learn to knit now. So off I went into Internet land and viola, I found this site! First project, a scarf. It is only about 1 foot long so far. I still need to finish it. I will, really.
Second project, a felted purse. I was too exited to wait until the scarf was finished before I started this one. I found the wool yarn on sale so I had to get started. Before I could even get the yarn out of the bag Amber, aka Marley, had unraveled it from one end of the room to the other. After saving the yarn I jumped into this project. Par for the course, I never seem to do anything without starting over a million times. I wish I could say it for perfection purposes! This felted bag will have flaws in it. It is now a project of refinement and patience. Let's see if I can get it somewhat right so that the flaws don't show up that much. Just like life isn't it!

Time with Girlfriends

I've been thinking how much female friendships mean to us females. Yesterday I met with friends for lunch at Olive Garden. Yum! It starts out when we are young. We find connections at an early age. I remember all the slumber parties that I would have and go to. When I was a young mom it was just getting together to let the kids exhaust some energy and to give the moms someone other than a preschooler to talk to. Today it is officially called a play group. I think for the moms as much as for the kids! When I had school aged children PTA and baseball games provided an venue for getting together. Now it's just plain and simple a lunch date. I even have 2 more lunch dates this week. I cherish this type of get together and these friendships!