This was an exhausting day. I started off the day by going to physical therapy at 07:30, then to work at 08:00. And then we were thouroghly busy all day long. We probably did thirty patients, one after another, bam bam bam. And everybody was upset with us because we didn't do their patient next.

I love working nights. Nobody there to blame but me. No unanswered questions about who is responsible for what.

The eight and nine-hour days that I have worked this week are more exhausting than the ten and twelve-hours nights that I normally work. The stress level goes from nothing (at night) to about 120% at 07:00. Constant conflicts/resolutions.

The problem is, I don't think that this is any different than any other hospital. There are a whole lot of very complicated and very critical things going on at the same time. Everyone, without exception, knows that the patient comes first. And everyone has a different idea on how to accomplish the best patient care in any given set of circumstances. And the circumstances change every minute.

It's amazing that anything gets done at all, under the circumstances... and a really big credit to the people who can work like this day in and day out.

Of course, there is the well-known Burnout; people just plain can't take it anymore. This is a very common occurance.

This is why I work nights.

The cats were acting strangely last night. Well, the two normal cats were acting strangely... scrambles always acts strangely. Anyways, they were trying to get under the recliner. I noticed it before I went to bed and tipped the chair up and looked underneath of it: nothing there. So I went to bed and never gave it another thought.

I got out of bed and left before Karen did this morning. She noticed the cats' curiosity, and she tipped the chair up. And a bird flew up at her face. She did really well, didn't wet her pants or anything. She took the screen off of the front window so that the bird could get out and tried unsuccessfully to herd it out the window. But time was getting short, so she went off to work.

I got home and, of course, went immediately to the computer, not noticing anything amiss. Karen had left a message on the machine for me, but I didn't check it, naturally. So when she and the grandkids got home, they told me about the bird. It was cowering in the kitchen, and I cornered it easily and took it outside; it appeared to be happy to be out of here.

We don't know if the bird was caught and brought in by one of the cats or if it got in through a torn screen in the guest bedroom. The cats have been known to bring in birds and small mammals before... usually after they've expired, but occasionally in a viable condition. The ones that I get a kick of of (mostly because of Karen's reaction) are the partially disembowelled rodents. Karen really hates that. The cats are proud of themselves...Look at me, the mighty hunter! After the reception that they get from Karen, you would think that they wouldn't do it a second time... well, our cats aren't that smart, I guess.

Karen and I are trying to think of something fun to do tonight. We will probably go eat somewhere and then try to rent a movie. The weekend will be spent at a local lake, probably, with the kids and grandkids. Drunks and their fireworks... I wish that I could pass. But I can't, I'm afraid. I might miss something like what happened last year.

Have a happy and safe weekend!