Day Sleeper.

Hmmm..it's 4:37 pm. I should still be sleeping, instead of sitting here occasionally listening in on The Cosby Show, and drinking this re-heated-twice-now coffee.

I worked a night shift last night, for the first time in a long time. For a long time, I worked the twelve to eights at the group home. Started out on a rotation, and did them 3 days a week for a few years, then it got too hard for my body to do 3 nights/3 evenings/3 days and I requested to do Monday to Friday graveyard shift, which I did for about a year.

It was heavenly. I have always been a night owl, and although I am the uber-social butterfly, I truly enjoyed the solitude of the night shift. I liked having nobody around that I needed to make small talk with, and I truly enjoyed just being on my own, to do my job in my own way.

I feel most creative in the wee hours of the morning, when nobody is around to distract me. In my year of doing strictly night shifts, I would arrive at work, get all the work done I was being paid to do, and then sit down, and do my own work, before it was time to wake up the ladies. I would bring my jewellery and sewing supplies and spend the nights creating for festivals, or I would sit at the computer or on the deck, and write to my heart's content. It was always so peaceful.

Eventually, it got to be a bit much. Summer hit, and I found that I wasn't sleeping when I got home, like I did in the winter. I wanted to be awake, to be out and about in the sunshine with the night sleepers. I would go two days without sleep, quite regularly just so I wouldn't miss out on any fun. I made a decision to quit my position, and go back to my old day job, and be like regular people.

Day shift, was not my thing. I had forgotten how much I hate mornings, especially in the winter. Getting up an hour early, just to scrape the windshield and warm up the car before I could head off to work, was hellish. It was strange to feel exhausted by ten o'clock at night, and I missed the days when I was able to stay up late.

When this supervisory position came up at the group home, I just had to jump on it. The hours I worked in a week allowed me to sleep in if need be, and stay up late if I wanted. Evenings, are definitely where I belong. And sometimes, I am lucky enough to be able to cover some night shifts for my staff, like I am doing this week, and it feels like I am getting a bit of a break.

Last night, was fun. I didn't realize how much I needed last night, until this morning, when I finally trudged home at 11:00am. I needed some alone time, to think, to get myself organized, to take in the past few days of being a busy little bee who took a very spontaneous trip to Toon Town, followed by a night of drinking on the patio, followed by a day of preparing to host a dinner party, followed by a day of brunch and feeding geese in the park.

However, I have to be back there tonight, and with only three hours of sleep under my belt, tonight might not be as wonderful. I forgot how hard it was to sleep all day, when it is so darn nice outside. Hopefully, after a nice dinner, I will be able to catch a few more winks, so I can enjoy another night of paid solitude.