Here Are 5 Great Things About Working Overnight

I started working the graveyard shift at Children's Hospital in November. Some things about it aren't great, like the  drain on my energy and only getting to fall asleep with my wife 2 nights a week. But, as with anything else, there are good things too. Here are 5 not necessarily in order:


1) Lots of time to read! The first 2-3 hours, focus can be an adventure. We answer dozens of calls. I've read sentences multiple times due to interruptions. Generally by 1 a.m. things slow waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy down, creating ideal reading conditions. It's quiet. The t.v. is usually on providing monotonous background noise I find helpful. My co-workers are pretty much talked out. It's great. Since the first of the year,  I've enjoyed several books highlighted by Colonel Roosevelt, the conclusion to Edmund Morris' outstanding trilogy on the 4th head of Mount Rushmore; David Petruzia's entertaining account of Harry Truman's surprising defeat of Tom Dewey in 1948; and the wonderful, Carnegie, by Peter Krass. All of these had been on my reading list for a while and I'm grateful for the opportunity to read them in such a quiet, well lit room.

2) Bonding time with Howie & Henry. The boys and I have become great friends. During the day we take long walks. We nap together. We explore the neighborhood. We clean the apartment - ok, I clean the apartment while they hide from housework. We cook dinner; which most often means I cook dinner while they stand under my feet staring at me hoping I drop something. They don't talk a lot, although at times in my sleepless delirium I'd swear they did, but I wouldn't trade their companionship for anything.

3) A much greater appreciation of my family. Most days the boys and I meet Denise at the bus stop when she comes home from work. Upon sighting the bus, they pop up, tails wagging joyfully, (in case you need clarification, the boys are dogs) requiring great energy to restrain from bounding up the steps as Denise exits. This is often the highlight of our day.

It's not like Denise coming home from work is something new. She's done so to the boys' great delight for years. Now, with them, it's something I look forward to more and more each day. I love hearing about her day, catching her up on our adventures (or lack thereof), and otherwise going about our evening.

This doesn't stop with Denise. I look forward to Emily teasing me; Caleb's weekly or so calls. Any more, contact with all three is like crossing the line at a marathon (except it happens a lot more often!)

No question, my lack of other human interaction nurtures my appreciation for my family, but I think that's ok. When our kids were growing up we often encouraged them to be nice to each other because no one else would ever be as on their side as their family.  Still, I know that for years while trying to help other people's kids I at times took mine for granted. While encouraging guys to be attentive  husbands I often was not one. Now, I am being reminded of the truth of what we told our kids.

4) Lack of responsibility. For the first time in 20+ years no one is looking to me for leadership. I don't make decisions that effect anyone outside my family. I am no one's role model or counselor. No one asks my opinion and then gets angry when I offer it. In this regard, my life is sheer bliss.

Which leads to my final item:

5) Focus. Through most of my years in 'ministry' I was convinced that what I was doing was...well...important. That I was involved in some Frodo like quest to save the world by ministering with students. While I wouldn't trade the vast majority of those years, the truth is that at the end of the day what I was doing was rather forgettable.  The things that kept me awake then; no one cares about now. Yes, I mean no one. Nobody. That doesn't mean those years were wasted. They weren't. But, I'm convinced that what makes them worthwhile has very little to do with the 'work' that consumed most of my time and energy.

Since I'm awake all night now, I have time to think about what actually might truly matter. I'm not in a place to make proclamations about what that is beyond the things I've written above. But, I will say I'm gaining a new clarity that for me is like a shiny spring day following months of dark, biting winter wind. I owe a lot of that clarity to the mind numbing hours sitting waiting for someone to call the hospital.