Yesterday 12/20 the kids decorated Grandma and Grandpa’s Christmas tree pretty much all by themselves.
I snuck in a nap recovering a little still from Legoland and gearing up for a work all nighter, so the the kids decorated a few cookies with Grandma to use up the candy she had left from making gingerbread houses.
At lunch time we headed out, back to Victorville. Still feeling so tired, I found myself sleeping most of the way. I slept again an hour before work. An hour here and an hour there seems like maybe too much sleep but truly I just felt wiped. As I was walking into work I thought to myself, “Why do I do this to myself? There are other things I could do. Like be a stay at home mom. I don’t want to be a nurse anymore.” That is not a good way to start the shift. A delivery in the first 5 minutes of the shift usually makes me forget how miserable I feel and it might have if I hadn’t been up for triages and they just kept walking in by twos all night with no breaks. We had another delivery and since I haven’t been the baby nurse yet they had me take over the labor and her nurse be the baby nurse trading back at the end of recovery. My last triage was discharged then with just enough time to catch up on charting and vitals on my couplet. It was one of those shifts that just rubs in your face how tired you feel. My head was throbbing so bad I couldn’t wear my stethoscope and I had to squint my way home or throw up from the nausea caused by letting in that little bit more light. I dove into bed telling Chad not to try to wake me up for church. I feel bad about missing church again too. I haven’t even made it one Sunday yet. I am working every weekend except one in January when we will be gone, so I’m not sure it will happen. I woke up at noon and took Ibuprofen my head still pounding away. When my 4:00pm alarm went off I was feeling much better, but now I had slept my whole day off away. I made a few family phone calls as the kids played with friends in the playground out in front of our apartment. Chad reminded me that it was time for our annual Red Lobster trip so I showered and got ready for our family Christmas date. We ordered an appetizer, crab legs and a lobster tail and split it all. The kids working busily on the crab legs serious about their work. We made a bit of a mess but it was very fun. Eve only stood on her chair to belt out in song twice maybe we are making progress in this area. It was a whole family effort, the kids thanked the crab for giving his life for them to have such a yummy meal. Having shared two dishes between all of us we were still slightly hungry when we were done. We decided to walk the mall and find something fun for dessert. We opted for the coffee shop at Barnes and Nobles with us each picking a different treat. An Izzy for Chad and Caleb, coffee for me, a scone for Hannah and a brownie for Eve. The kids traded tastes of each others treats we talked too. It was getting late and the mall was starting to close down, it was past the kids bed time by at least an hour so the timing was good. Hannah declared on our way back to the car that this day was the best. I talked to my cousin a bit after getting home and getting the kids in bed. The world looks different after some solid sleep and a rejuvenating family date. Maybe I can still be a nurse good thing I have another day to rest before I have to test the theory.
Owens Endeavors 