meanderings of a night shift brain

Greetings from night shift.

I am on shift number 8 in a stretch where I am working 11 out of 12 days in a row. It's rather comical for a nurse who is use to having four days a week off and regularly using my plenteous vacation days.

It's not a complaint but I am looking forward to a much needed break while I still like being a nurse.

We are going to be sailing in about three weeks and it is hard to believe. The time has gone by so fast. It seems like June was yesterday, maybe that's because I never left summer. I have the most ridiculous rainbow flip flop tan line seeing that my dependable rainbows have been my primary foot ware during the past five months. I would post a photo of the tan line if I didn't realize that my genetically altered bunionized feet would indefinitely offend some poor viewer. You can just make fun of me when I get home.

It is strange to think of wearing sweaters, gloves, scarves, and wool coats. I have completely missed the transition of fall (and the lovely array of colors it brings). But I do have a rather phenomenal tan. A worthy trade.

Going home might prove to be a bit overwhelming. After living in an environment that is almost completely choice free I don't know how I will handle independence again. Or walking through a Wal Mart.

I vividly remember my first taxi ride through Monrovia. My senses were completely overloaded by the colors, people, noises, and extreme poverty. Now it's just normal to walk by pile of heaping trash and sometimes (thanks to Esther's Africa lady lessons) I join the women who magically carry large objects on their heads. I've even been convinced that strapping a child to your back via a colorful piece of fabric is the only reasonable way to transport a child.

My goal for my three weeks in America is to spend as much time in my house watching movies and drinking coffee with my family as possible. The nature of living on a ship with over 400 hundred people, living in a tiny 6 birth cabin, and being in a developing country makes it almost impossible to ever truly relax. There is always a question to answer or something to do.

I can't wait to do nothing with the people I love at home. It will be lovely.