Thursday

My first shift of the week ended about forty minutes ago. I came home, got out of my scrubs, ate something, had a calcium-magnesium drink (good for relaxation), and brushed my teeth. I put on a stand-up comedy (Nate Bargatze: The Tennessee Kid) and am now just trying to get The Brain to wind down enough to sleep.

I drank too much coffee, I think. I ate too much (four leftover chicken wings with blue cheese dressing, a protein bar, a sunflower seed butter and sliced strawberry on wheat bread sandwich, a cheese stick (pilfered from the kids' snacks), and some quinoa and ground quorn) over my twelve and a half hour shift.

It was cold last night. I wore a heavy jacket as I moved from cottage to cottage. I tried not to go outside too much, but it's unavoidable because part of my nightly duties include checking things in each building. I do this after the kids have gone to bed. Last night, they took an hour and a half to all settle down. They had all had candy and other treats throughout the day because, of course, it was Halloween. They got to watch Space Jam on TV before bed. Then when it came time to go to bed, only about half of them agreed with the plan. The other half went into shenanigan mode and it took awhile to calm them down.

My charting was done by midnight (my personal goal) and then I had to check all the things, restock the medical supplies in my unit, then I helped cover the techs' breaks in the other cottages. I had a bunch of paperwork to get through after that. Then it was a slow grind to the oncoming shift. I had more coffee. I ate more things. I read patients' histories, which I am slowly coming around to doing. It's not as overwhelmingly distressing as it once was to read about the abuses these kids have endured. I can be a bit more objective as I read them, and connect their behavior to their histories. It makes me more understanding of them and cues me in on how to deal with them. (I only deal with them for a handful of hours from after dinner to bedtime, unlike the day staff who deal with them all day. I prefer my schedule for now.)

At seven in morning my relief came in and I handed off my patients to her. Then I walked out into the cold dawn where Dave was waiting to drive me home.