I arrived a little before 7 a.m. as usual. I ate a quick snack at about ten that morning. By mid-afternoon I was very hungry so I took a lunch break at 3 p.m. Much of the rest of my shift was disrupted continually by a difficult personality-disordered drug-seeking patient and I got behind with my documentation, so I had to finish that up after I had reported off to the oncoming night-shift nurses.
I clocked out after 9:30 p.m. Once home I kissed my family members; the human ones that is, then snacked while reading bartcop. After practicing scales and a few etudes I crashed.
Years ago I read Silences by Tillie Olsen. It's an important book. In a nutshell Olsen explains that people who work a lot have little time and energy left over to write plays.
Nurses are fortunate that their occupation pays well enough for us to "put food on our families." But on some days I have no time for anything but work. Then the body must rest, and often the mind also.
Barbara Ehrenreich has written beautifully and effectively about those of us who work like that all the time, every day, yet have difficulty getting by. This is so because... why?
1 comment:
I'm terribly sorry, Shrimplate. You've been around my blog, so I'd only be preaching to the choir, but nurses will at some point have to band together and withdraw from being employees. Instead if they ever can take the plunge, they can form professional practice groups and directly contract to provide nursing to patient care institutions. I can't find another way - and I'm still looking.
If you ever get a chance - read Sinclair Lewis, too. One hundred years ago - and he's still ahead of our time.
Hope today is better....
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