Small Blessings

In an effort not to get too depressed by my lack of sleep and general dissatisfaction with this new shift (that was a mouthful, good thing I'm typing it and not saying it! =) I've decided to write down all the good things about it.

1) More family time. I've probably quadrupled the amount of time I get to spend with Der Deutscher and JBP. And, with my mother (Grammy) out of town I'm seeing even more of them. It's been idyllic, or at least would be if I could wake up completely to enjoy it.

2) Daycare. This shift lets me keep JBP in his same daycare under his same hours. This wouldn't have been the case if I'd been shifted to a day shift.

3) No Sabbath work. For me Sabbath is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This is my holy day, a day of rest. I don't think it was wrong to work on Friday nights. I categorize my work as public service. Just one example, we're in the middle of tornado alley and can get tornadoes at any time of day, any time of the year with little to no warning. So, someone needs to always be on shift. I just didn't enjoy being the one who had to work Friday nights. And now I don't have to.

4) Less gas consumption. Since I don't get a meal hour on this shift (thus it's only an eight hour shift instead of the industry standard nine hour shift) I'm not driving home to eat everyday. That's cut my fuel consumption nearly in half.

5) I'm not bored. As a manager there just wasn't enough for me to do. We had too many managers for the amount of managerial work. That's not the case in producing a two hour morning newscast.

6) No more taping. I don't have to worry about trying to remember when to tape the TV shows I like to watch and then finding the time to watch them when JBP's not around/awake. Now I can pretty much watch my TV shows when they actually air.

7) Worship time. With the new schedule I've actually managed to find a reliable time for a daily, morning worship. This is something I've struggled with since my baptism. With my old schedule I'd wake up when JBP came in to wake me up. Then I'd spend all morning with him, leaving no time for worship. And by the time I got home from work I went straight to bed. Again, no time for worship. Now I've got the time.

There you have it, the small blessings I've found in the morning shift.

Nimitz' Lady