TwentyFour/Seven

If you'd have asked me a year ago which my least favourite shift was, the answer would be instant. Nights. I used to dislike them so intensely that I'd quite happily order a government edict that no ambulances are to be sent out at night. If you're ill, wait until daytime. If you can't wait, walk. No mercy. All this was whilst I was on a rotating shift pattern, so I'd go from morning shifts, to afternoon/evening shifts, to the dreaded, loathed and feared nights. But then, just under a year ago, I started working permanent nights.

I had no choice, family came first, and it was the only way I could work and have childcare arrangements that I could cope with. I dreaded the idea of it, and thought that I would never ever get used to nights. Now, I love them. I can't get enough. The peace and quiet of the world at night, no traffic, no mayhem, real patients. The insomnia is still there whether I'm trying to sleep at night or during the day, so no change there. And if I'm already awake at night, while the rest of the world is sleeping, I might as well get paid for it...

However, I had a night off last night, and knew that I could get to bed at the same time as the rest of the normal world. At least in my own time-zone. But I had to remember to set my alarm for seven o'clock to get the kids up for school. It was an optimistic idea, setting an alarm clock. There's no way in the world that I could sleep that late, and my son made sure of it with a bout of croup at 3am. So much for a night off.

Just before seven, I picked up my phone which is also my alarm clock, to turn off the alarm. No need for it now, is there? I took one look at it and had the final proof that I'm now a night-owl. I'd set the alarm to get the kids up for school. Time to get into uniform, have breakfast, clean teeth, brush hair, all in time for the school bus. There was a good chance, had I relied on my alarm clock, that they may have been a little late. I'd set it for 19.00...