Night Shifts and Kids

For those of you who don't know, I just took a position as an RN at the Heber Valley hospital. I was just kind of looking at available nursing jobs one day and saw this one. I only have to work one shift a week and it's really good money. I don't want to leave the kids even one day a week because it's just hard on them (these are 12 hour shifts), but I thought if I did night shifts then they wouldn't really even know I was gone.

This month has been crazy with all of the training. They're making me train two shifts/week during the day for a month. My poor kids have had to deal with a lot the last couple of weeks. I would never keep doing it if it was always this way, but I just keep looking ahead to May when I start just doing one shift/week.

So, Tuesday was my first night shift in like six years. The concept of working nights so I can be home with my kids is great, but I had no idea if I would really be able to handle it. Since I got married I haven't been to bed after 11:00. Jake goes to bed early, so I do too. So the idea of staying awake all night was a big change. I managed to sleep for a couple of hours Tuesday afternoon (Kate slept and Zack watched Dora), got the kids fed, and then headed in to work. It actually went pretty well. I was tired, but not so much that I couldn't function. When I got home I was feeling pretty good so I took care of the kids, cleaned the floor, and jumped in the shower so I could take the kids to story time at the library. I was doing great until I sat down at the library, then I started to die. So as soon as we got home I took a quick hour nap while the kids ran around crazy and then I was good to go.

The moral of this long story is that I think I'll be able to handle night shifts. I'm excited to get my brain working again and to be able to get a break from the kids without having to leave them with a babysitter. The extra spending money is also an added bonus. I'm definitely grateful for a degree that allows me to work such crazy hours and still be home with the kids.