November 19, 2009

In a Funk

The last couple days I've been in a funk. I've wanted to be lazy but I am unable to indulge my fantasy of lying on the coach and napping. I am slowly coming out of it. I was on call last night from 7p - 11p, and I desperately wanted to be able to stay home. I had worked evening shift charge the night before to help out the usual charge nurse. So I worked Friday, on-call Saturday, worked Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday evening. I just wanted to tuck the kids in and go to bed at a normal, decent time. Usually, they know by 2 hours before a shift if they need you or not, and they hadn't called me by 5:30, so I figured I was in the clear for awhile anyway. When you are on call, they could call at anytime during that call slot and you have to be there in 30 minutes. I knew I still might have to go in. At 5:40, they called "We need you to come in at 7". Rats. I moaned and groaned about having to work, wondering what type of assignment they'd give me. Evening shift is notorious for giving people coming in to help a less than pleasant load. But, I was assigned to care for a coworker, having her first baby. Early in her pregnancy, the sono had indicated there was some type of mass that was shifting her heart and lungs to the wrong side. Plans at that point were to deliver her at 34 weeks at a Hospital with a Level 3 NICU. But, at a follow-up sono at 33 weeks had shown that it had resolved and that the mass had completely disappeared. So last night she delivered a healthy little girl. It's funny watching an OB nurse on the other side of the monitor for the first time. This nurse rarely shows much emotion, but as her baby's head emerged, she reached down to touch the mass of hair and the tears started falling. Of course, that gets me crying. By the end, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Not unusual when one of our own delivers. It was a beautiful delivery. So I had dreaded working but it turned out to be a nice shift, plus it's another 4 hours of call-in pay. It will make for a nice check for Christmas shopping. This a.m., I found myself not wanting to get up out of bed, drag the kids out in the cold rain to take Jacob to school. It was so nice and toasty warm under the blankets, and since I had worked until 11pm last night, I hadn't gotten to bed until after midnight. Obviously there wasn't any option other than to get my butt out of bed, but I grumbled all morning. I stopped at a pop machine (I have a diet cola addiction and try to limit myself by not buying a 12 pack and just getting one at the machine in the morning) and it gave me 2 for the price of one! Hey, sometimes it's the small things. I took the mail out of the box and found a Save the Date card for my old H.S friend's wedding. We reconnected this summer when we ran races together. I also received her bridal shower invitation and noticed it was on a Sunday afternoon. I thought "Well, I guess I can't go to that" until I realized I was scheduled to work Friday/Sunday that weekend, so I will be able to go. I also found a coupon booklet from the grocery store I shop at for $20 off a $200 purchase, on top of great coupons for items I routinely buy. Things are starting to look up and my motivation is coming back. I might just be able to get the 5 loads of laundry tackled today.