I'm feeling a bit of a sad sack today
I'm on nights and I'm sat in supermarket cafe having my tea before I drive down the coast to work
There are four people in the cafe and they all look as sad i do
Night duty can leave the days expanse of time in between shifts like dead time
It's like experiencing that awful Sunday night before school feeling three days in a row.
What you really want is to get up in the dark with a bath already run for you and with tea on the table.
Your uniform is pressed ready and your supper is boxed ready to microwave at midnight...(a time nurses get peckish after their very first sit down of the night)
When you leave the house a kiss sends you on your way
My uniform IS ironed ( and hidden under a jacket - to protect it from stray gravy) and my coffee was self service.
I doubt the check out woman will give me a kiss goodbye
I'm glad she won't, she reeks of fags.
I look at the clock, I've got 25 minutes to finish my coffee and to buy dog food and some treats for my colleagues
It was a challenging shift last night
And I suspect tonight's will be the same.
Hey ho xx
X ... kiss from me and no I don’t reek of fags.
ReplyDeleteLXX
Dorothy and Winnie will give you kisses when you get home, it has been a bit of a difficult week.
ReplyDeleteSorry I’m late, but I’m sending you a kiss. You wouldn’t want tea “cooked” by me.
ReplyDeleteDo I ever understand how cramped free time is when you're on nights. It's all about work-eat-sleep-eat-work, repeat. Hope tonight is less challenging than you anticipate and the treats you've bought for the staff will improve the general mood a lot.
ReplyDeleteHugs and a kiss!
I hope your shift goes smoothly after all. Sadly, some days are only for getting through, in order to welcome a new day.
ReplyDeleteI'm on nights next weekend and you describe the feeling so well, a slow dread all day of having to go in at night and that dead time waiting for your shift to start. For me though I always perk up at 5.30am thinking the next shift are getting up and ready to come in, and at 7am I silently think "see you suckers" to all the workers I pass as I leave and my day is done, especially on the final shift.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Kiss and a hug from me. Daughter did the night shifts until a few weeks ago, nice to see her not looking like a zombie. Have a good shift.x
ReplyDeleteYes But John,just think of all the fun you can have when you have done it x
ReplyDeleteI hope you find some unexpected pleasantness during your shift. And I know you will return home to some welcome furry love! Hugs for ya!
ReplyDeleteWorse time used be 4am second break. All you wanted was sleep
ReplyDeleteHaving once been admitted and operated on in the middle of the night, I am full of respect and gratitude for those who nurse and care at all hours. That means you too John.
ReplyDeleteHope things were not as bad as expected John but rest assured if they were then there is nobody your patient/s would rather have caring for them than you dear heart. x
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know who does shift work loses that week....body clock is all out of whack, sleep deprived and eating dinner at breakfast time...trying to sleep when the rest of the world is awake...it's not for the faint hearted John x
ReplyDeleteI have never worked night shifts but I have endured many almost sleepless nights. Working all night sounds worse though, but somebody has to do it. Thanks to you and everyone else who does it. For some months I have admired your seemingly generally determined fortitude in the face of adversity. Coping and rebuilding always beats crumbling, even though crumbling can come along so easily.
ReplyDeleteI would think there is much less to do during nights? No meals, no baths, no conversations or stories required? No
ReplyDeletevisitors. Is it the tedium that is difficult or is there less staff and you are very busy after all? [I have only been a patient, not a nurse or night-worker, so maybe I am so uninformed...]. I do think with some planning you could make yourself that so desired late night boxed meal. Something to do on the Sundays you so dislike, cooking ahead for the work week? Crockpots make wonderfully warm comforting stews and chili and ragouts, for example.
No kiss from me, I imagine not wanted, but I ll offer a hug and thanks to you and all who work nights.
lizzy
But when the stint is over, you're off on adventures. xxoo
ReplyDeleteI worked 12 hr. nights for 20 years...now I'm old and retired but I still behave like a nightowl...never seem to sleep before 6am ...then up and going around 1pm...it's okay...I'm retired and can now schedule necessities around this weird sleep schedule....it seems a night worker just can't seem to discard the nights in favor of the days :)
ReplyDeleteBlowing you a reeking kiss x
ReplyDeleteAnd there was me thinking that "Night Nurse" was a remedy for colds and flu and not a grumpy geezer sitting in a supermarket cafe with a tepid cappuccino and a scotch egg with a grey yolk.
ReplyDeleteLife generally disappoints us YP :(
DeleteGo to hell Yang Dodu!
ReplyDeleteYou are shouting at a software robot YP. Not worth it.
ReplyDeleteI hope your colleagues appreciated their dog food and treats ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy son, who is a police control room operator works on a revolving year long shift pattern that has his shift starting time moving forwards a few hours every four days. The only thing that keeps him sane is that at the end of the night shift rotation they get four days off. I never know when to phone him!! With his girlfriend working in retail they get limited time together, sometimes they are like ships that pass in the night.
Oh...I thought Yang Dodu was real!
ReplyDeleteIt's that January feeling. I think even if you're not on nightshift January feels just how you do. I hope your night went better than anticipated. x
ReplyDeleteI used to eat out at lunchtime in restaurants by myself quite a lot. If I entered one, and there were only a few individuals there, I'd go over and ask if they minded that I join them. Occasionally I met really interesting people, occasionally I regretted asking. It's worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteSounds so hard, might there be some less depressing place for tea?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure night duty is no fun. I'm not sure I could work nights that way, but I guess one adapts, right?
ReplyDeleteSupermarket cafes aren't the most uplifting places to eat at any time of the day. I hope your night went better than you anticipated. A non smoking nicely perfumed virtual hug from me.
ReplyDeleteFantasy land. Even in a relationship you rarely get spoiled like that. When I did night duty I was lucky to get an absent-minded kiss as my girlfriend was engrossed in the TV.
ReplyDeleteWell then, beware when a sexy young offering becomes fascinated with you and wants a bit of Yorkshire Pudding all to themselves. My wife is amused by the number of emails I get from young Asian ladies wanting to be my wife, existing wife or wives not being a problem, etc., "please just send me airfare so we can meet!xx". I think my wife might actually like them to be real to take some of the burden off of her :)
ReplyDeleteIf you had financial problems, then it is time for you to smile. You only need to contact Mr. Benjamin with the amount you wish to borrow and the payment period that suits you and you will have your loan within three working days. I just benefited for the sixth time a loan of 700 thousand dollars for a period of 180 months with the possibility of paying before the expiration date. Mr Benjamin has be helping me with loan.Make contact with him and you will see that he is a very honest man with a good heart.His email is lfdsloans@lemeridianfds.com and his WhatApp phone number is + 1-989-394-3740
ReplyDelete