The One Where I was Awake for 31 Hours
So, earlier this morning, I was guilt tripped into a mid-morning run.
No, I wasn't guilt tripped by my aunt, but by my conscious who remembered that I ate, like, two bowls of ice cream last night while I am actively (saying that I am) on a diet.
I had my ear buds in my newly pierced ears listening to that one song I have played nearly 100 times in the last day and even though I was breathing hard, there was a nice cool breeze.
In this moment, I thought to myself even in the midst of the craziest days, life is still good.
I worked Tuesday night into Wednesday morning this past week and had scheduled to have a mini-vacay on my few days off with my family in the Wilmington area.
Come Wednesday morning at work, patient care became slightly busy; it seems to always be at the end of a shift when Hell decides to break loose. Granted, it really wasn't all that bad, but the mini-nap I had planned to take before I left for Wilmington dissolved into me helping out some coworkers and then getting home to start and finish packing a bag for my trip.
I hugged my dad good-bye and darted out the door straight to Starbucks to pick up my first of many double-shots for the day; hey, I had already been up for 18 hours at this point and I had a whole day ahead of me!
I cranked up my Spotify For the Commute playlist and opened up my sunroof to a beautiful day, jamming all the way to Wilmington. Hour 21 came and went.
If you have ever been awake for a long period of time, you know that hazy-am-I-actual-awake-right-now feeling.
How does a night-shifter fight that feeling? Well, my most normal way of dealing with that feeling is literally sleeping the day away; get home after a 12-hour night shift and sleep literally all day, losing said day and sometimes that makes me want to cry.
The second and most recent way of dealing with that feeling I have found is stay awake, drive to Wilmington, drink a lot, a lot, a lot of caffeine, and spend the day with very entertaining and wonderful family who are more like friends. Picking strawberries, taking some selfies (where you may look high because you indeed are on hour 23 of being awake), drinking some beer and eating a bowl full of Mexican food helps the brain continue to carry on through this marathon of awake-ness.
When the day was done, I had stayed up for at least a span of 31 hours. And to be honest, at the "beginning" of the day (normal-people-days), I didn't think I would be able to pull it off.
"You must be so tired, Elizabeth!" my family had said a good couple of times before the day was completely over.
And you know, I could tell I had been up for longer than my body is used to, but without the stress of my work-life, I felt as if I could continue on and continue to enjoy my day.
And I think that is what I need, what helps me continue to embrace every off-day and every work-day; the days where you can just throw your head back and laugh with no trace of worry or stress on your mind. Where you can sleep in until 9 am and go on a mid-morning run with your Aunt and not be worried about what the rest of the day has in store; just to take it one minute, one moment at a time.
No, I wasn't guilt tripped by my aunt, but by my conscious who remembered that I ate, like, two bowls of ice cream last night while I am actively (saying that I am) on a diet.
I had my ear buds in my newly pierced ears listening to that one song I have played nearly 100 times in the last day and even though I was breathing hard, there was a nice cool breeze.
In this moment, I thought to myself even in the midst of the craziest days, life is still good.
I worked Tuesday night into Wednesday morning this past week and had scheduled to have a mini-vacay on my few days off with my family in the Wilmington area.
Come Wednesday morning at work, patient care became slightly busy; it seems to always be at the end of a shift when Hell decides to break loose. Granted, it really wasn't all that bad, but the mini-nap I had planned to take before I left for Wilmington dissolved into me helping out some coworkers and then getting home to start and finish packing a bag for my trip.
I hugged my dad good-bye and darted out the door straight to Starbucks to pick up my first of many double-shots for the day; hey, I had already been up for 18 hours at this point and I had a whole day ahead of me!
I cranked up my Spotify For the Commute playlist and opened up my sunroof to a beautiful day, jamming all the way to Wilmington. Hour 21 came and went.
If you have ever been awake for a long period of time, you know that hazy-am-I-actual-awake-right-now feeling.
How does a night-shifter fight that feeling? Well, my most normal way of dealing with that feeling is literally sleeping the day away; get home after a 12-hour night shift and sleep literally all day, losing said day and sometimes that makes me want to cry.
The second and most recent way of dealing with that feeling I have found is stay awake, drive to Wilmington, drink a lot, a lot, a lot of caffeine, and spend the day with very entertaining and wonderful family who are more like friends. Picking strawberries, taking some selfies (where you may look high because you indeed are on hour 23 of being awake), drinking some beer and eating a bowl full of Mexican food helps the brain continue to carry on through this marathon of awake-ness.
When the day was done, I had stayed up for at least a span of 31 hours. And to be honest, at the "beginning" of the day (normal-people-days), I didn't think I would be able to pull it off.
"You must be so tired, Elizabeth!" my family had said a good couple of times before the day was completely over.
And you know, I could tell I had been up for longer than my body is used to, but without the stress of my work-life, I felt as if I could continue on and continue to enjoy my day.
And I think that is what I need, what helps me continue to embrace every off-day and every work-day; the days where you can just throw your head back and laugh with no trace of worry or stress on your mind. Where you can sleep in until 9 am and go on a mid-morning run with your Aunt and not be worried about what the rest of the day has in store; just to take it one minute, one moment at a time.
To actually believe the thought when it crosses your mind, this life is beautiful.
You see, I am still a little baby-nurse and a little baby-adult still trying to get a feel for what this "real" life is all about. This process of learning is interesting, for sure, and can be more challenging on some days that I would have ever expected.
You see, I am still a little baby-nurse and a little baby-adult still trying to get a feel for what this "real" life is all about. This process of learning is interesting, for sure, and can be more challenging on some days that I would have ever expected.
But you know what, it is amazing to me to reflect on where I once was and to know how far I have come.
That's not to say I am done growing, that I have grown complacent to my circumstances.
It is actually quite the opposite.
Escaping from the lull of that 'everyday life' feel has a way of sticking my mind back onto a track.
Although I am not sure where exactly I will be in the next two, three, five, ten years in many aspects of life, I do know that whatever I choose, it will be beautiful.
Because even in the midst of a mid-morning, ankle-killing run; even in the midst of a 31 hour, never-ending day; even in the midst of rush-hour traffic; even in the midst of the pain of a needle-guided ear piercing, life is still be beautiful.
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