TGIF

This morning was rough. Tuesday had marked the beginning of my downward spiral, so I was near rock bottom by the time the alarm went off. I was beyond exhausted. I silenced the offending alarm, wondering how I was going to make it through the day. I really couldn’t come up with a good plan. It doesn’t matter I’m only pulling 8-hour shifts right now; they are still physically and mentally demanding. Six straight shifts had taken their toll on me; a seventh promised pure torture. My shoulders and arms ached. My back was stiff. My brain had turned to mush. I really didn’t know if I could take another day of confused, aggressive patients. Not leaving the hospital until 10pm last night didn’t help, either. I was still dreaming (rather, nightmaring) about yesterday’s shift when I was jolted awake. Now, at 6am, I was rolling out of bed to do it all over again. I might as well have slept on the ward. It didn’t feel like I had gotten any sort of break.

But I can’t really feel sorry for myself. This is nursing. Shift work and patient care are bound to take a toll on one’s entire being. That’s just how it is. I doubt any experienced nurse would disagree.

I should feel sorry for Mouse, though. Poor guy - he’s stuck bearing the brunt of my exhaustion. This morning, he got the cold shoulder for eating the last hard-boiled egg. (I really wanted that egg!) I know - I’m not much fun when I have my grumpy pants on. Living with me isn’t always easy; dealing with my odd work hours and exhaustion-driven mood swings are no picnic. I need to make it up to him. I finally have a couple of days off, so it’s time for us to have a little fun. Dinner and wine sound are a must. Maybe we’ll do some sightseeing, possibly take a river cat downtown to explore the city. Whatever we do, it will just be nice to have some down time together.