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As a child, there is something powerful and profound about the night. It presents boundaries where sleep is required - like it or not. There are expectations to rest from the activities of the day and be calm and quiet.
As a teenager and college student, you have your share of all-nighters, talking with friends or finishing papers. There is something forbidden and exciting about staying up through early hours of the morning of the next day.
Now I find myself entering a life where work around the clock is standard. I find that some of the innocence and secrets of the night are stripped away as I remain awake through all 10 hours of darkness.
Yesterday as I entered the final stretch of my 30-hr first "call" night of sub-internship month, I saw people gradually trickle in to the hospital to begin their day. I thought, "So this is what the other side of midnight looks like" when there is no hard and fast borderline between yesterday and today. It is definitely interesting and sometimes disorienting. I had to talk myself through what day it was a couple of times yesterday. Thankfully, fatigue did not set in until yesterday afternoon when at last I was able to sleep.
I am excited about the path ahead and the opportunity to enter the field of medicine. Hopefully my body will continue to learn how to operate throughout the other side of midnight on a regular basis.
3 comments:
After my first "all-nighter" at work I quickly realized that "yesterday, today, and tomorrow" could no longer be used in conversation. The confusion alone is enough to cause insanity.
When we first got married, Chuck owned several dance studios in Indianapolis and Zionsville. He taught from 9:00AM till 10PM. Then he and his professional partner would practice until midnight or 1 AM. By the time he got homeand unwound, it would be 2 or 2:30 till we got to bed. I still had to get up at 6 to get the boys off to school. All our firends were either in the dance business, show business or food or medical since they all had the same goofy hours we had. It made for an eclectic group and lively conversation. Night people are cool.
Jordan, way to go with that long shift and all-nighter! I don't know how you do it! :)
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