shift worker

All posts tagged shift worker

I Must Have Needed That

Published July 1, 2014 by Angela

12 hours of sleep straight, only waking up when my kitty thought he needed some attention, has me feeling much better now than I have for the past 4 days. Being a 3rd shift worker and having 9 days off from work is not something I generally look forward to. I rarely have (or willingly take) more than a couple days off in a row. When I am off, I try to maintain my sleep schedule by staying up all night, and sleeping during the day.

A girl’s day yesterday with my 4 daughter’s pretty much pushed me to the limit. I did not feel good eating lunch at Red Robin, I slept through the movie Maleficent, and the several hour mall shopping spree had me at my wit’s end. I kept explaining to them that I just physically did not feel good (they know being off my schedule literally makes me ill), and had to keep apologizing for my lack of patience. I could slowly feel myself turning into one of those parents that make me cringe when I see how they talk to or treat their children. I did not get quite to that point, but I certainly was on my way.

So after all of that sleep, and 4 full days still off from work, I already know I am going to fall asleep for a couple hours, waking up at 2am, wide awake and starving, and be up until about 8am when I am so exhausted I have to go back to bed. I am glad that I do not have anything scheduled or planned that I can’t do around my odd-ball schedule, but I feel like I am missing out on time with my girls; even though we are all physically sitting in the same room right now (minus one), and one is on their laptop, one is on their phone, one is watching television, and I am waiting for a cake to cool so I can frost it.

I also am looking at a whole lot of stuff sitting around that I need to get sorted and taken care of, and have no motivation for that either. So I think I am going to call it a day, eat a piece of cake, and start reading “The Silkworm”, J. K. Rowling’s second book in the Cormoran Strike series (written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith).

What are your plans as we get closer to the Fourth of July?

No, Please. Let Me Get That For You…

Published March 10, 2014 by Angela

…While you sit there and do absolutely nothing. Good Morning to me! Here’s a little tidbit about how my Tuesday is beginning…

I am so doing this tomorrow!

I am doing this tomorrow!

My alarm goes off at 4pm, ughh, I hit the snooze, only to turn the alarm off at 4:05 pm before it starts screaming at me again. I cannot stand the sound of an alarm clock.

As soon as I open my bedroom door, I hear from behind child #2’s bedroom door, “Mom, are you cooking dinner, I am starving?”

Me: “Could you let me get a cup of coffee please?” I head downstairs to child #3 laying on the couch, watching television, and child #4 eating a bag of popcorn. (Why are you eating in the living room? I ask you 10 times a day to not eat in the living room).

So, as I wait 30 seconds for my cup of coffee to brew (why did I give up Monster drinks?) I go in the basement and put my laundry in the dryer. It is now about 4:15 and I can get in the shower.

Showered, dressed, hair is blow-dried, lacking make-up and need more coffee. I get more coffee, and begin making a dinner that I am not going to eat.

Ridiatore pasta, spinach and parmesan sauce (yes, jarred), and homemade garlic toast. I empty the dishwasher while I am literally waiting for water to boil. It really does take longer when you watch it. 20 minutes later I tell 3 kids they can eat, to have child #4 ask “Mom, if my friend comes over while I am eating, can I go outside and play and I will eat later?”

“Um. No, you cannot.”

Kids fed, I can go finish getting ready for work. Everyone is done eating, the kitchen is a mess, and I get to take care of everything. Child #2 is back in her bedroom, child #3 is back on the couch, and child #4 is outside with her friend.

Where is child #1, you ask? She is a Junior in college and lives near her campus, which is not near me 😦 And if she was here, I would not be typing this post because she would have had dinner made, kids fed, and dishes taken care of before I even got out of bed (Love you Jess!)

Yes, I could yell at them (trust me, I do) and nag them to do their chores, clean the kitchen, etc. etc. But honestly, sometimes it is just easier for me and everyone else if I just do it myself. It gets done faster, and correctly the 1st time. And no, I am not an enabler of lazy children, they do take care of the things I expect them to, most of the time.

said no child of mine, EVER :-)

said no child of mine, EVER 🙂

So it’s on to cup of coffee #3, a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and a banana Lucky Charms (I need the sugar rush), and time to do homework.

 

Yes, I really do love my girls more than anything, but some days, I just gotta share how ridiculous things can be around here 🙂

Wait! What Just Happened?

Published December 23, 2013 by Angela

Apparently my body gave up and decided to revolt against my shift-worker-sleeper schedule. After 4 hours of sleep over 3 days, I went to bed last night at 7 pm and am getting up at 11 am this morning. Although I did wake up a few times, it was only long enough to look at the clock, and I went back to sleep.

Either that was some extra-strength Nyquil I took last night, or my body had had enough!. I do not think I have ever slept that long. I have to say, I am feeling super-fantastic right now, and hope this actually allows me to sleep like a normal person for the next several days. It gets real old, real fast, being up the entire night, alone, and then sleeping during the day while my girls are up. The peace and quiet is nice (no girls arguing at 3am) but I am losing half a day, every day, that I do this.

Even though I am used to my shift-worker hours and do like working the odd shift, I hope I can have a “normal” rest of my Christmas vacation! Oddly enough, I feel like I have just lost 1/2 a day of getting things accomplished!

Now I get to bake cupcakes, and a carrot cake, and make sure everything is ready to go for Christmas Eve tomorrow!

Are you ready for the Christmas holiday that got here way to fast? Or do you still need to shop and wrap?

Those Three Beautiful Words

Published November 14, 2013 by Angela

After a good night’s sleep, or in my case less than stellar sleep, I always hear the same thing from any one of my girls, generally all 3 by the time they all see me. Yep, you could set a clock by it.

“What’s for dinner?”  (I should clarify I am a shift worker, sleeping during the day while my kids are in school, or homeschooling, getting up as everyone is getting home for the day). So as I am rubbing sleep out of my eyes, wishing my 20-second Keurig coffee pot could brew even faster, they want to know what’s for dinner. Not “How’d you sleep?” or “I love you”.

So as I am waking up, and getting ready for my day, knowing I couldn’t eat a bite of anything I am cooking them, they want to know what is for dinner, and how fast can I get it cooked? We have slowly adjusted to this type of schedule, but I do wish I could eat the dinner I make for my family with them. Instead, I am eating a yogurt and piece of fruit, or a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios (YUM!) while they are eating tacos, or spaghetti, or any other meal I would love to share with them.

The problem gets worse as even though I am eating my dinner at 2am in the morning, my body knows it is 2am, and that I really shouldn’t be eating a meal at that time of day. So I tend to eat a lot of soups, or anything else that doesn’t bother my “it’s-2am-you-should-be-sleeping” stomach.

I tried to have a normal schedule on the weekends I don’t work, my body doesn’t appreciate that either. I can only hope that this situation I volunteered myself into is not going to be a long-term situation, and I can eventually feel like a normal person who has a normal schedule and normal eating habits.

Are you a shift worker? If so, how do you adjust to it?