In the middle of the night, when you're staying awake chipping away at an essay, or suddenly come down with a horrible bout of appendicitis, it's always nice to know that no matter how late it is, you're taken care of, whether by the drive thru attendant at Tim Hortons or the friendly, attentive nurse at the hospital in town.
Shift workers, do we really let them know how much they're appreciated?
Geez, I go to bed at around 10 p.m. and get up at 7 in the morning and still feel wiped out, like I haven't had enough shut-eye.
So imagine working the graveyard shift, or pulling odd hours overnight where you don't get to see your family as much as you'd like, going to work at 2.a.m.
At the Feb. 10 council meeting, a request was submitted to council from the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour that would mark March 20 as shift work recognition day.
Of course, council passed it, because it's a great idea but the least we can do.
I have a huge amount of respect for people who hold down shift work because of the impact they've had on my life; they're staying up in the wee morning hours to accommodate me, whether it's getting my cappuccino ready or scanning my bottle of NyQuil through the checkout when I have a cold.
Yes, it's their job but in turn, they're adding just a little more ease to my life.
I remember years ago I was in the hospital for two weeks and in such a cold and grey, sterile environment, with just a tiny TV and a couple of magazines to read, it was always nice when the nurse, in the middle of the night would pop in just to check on me.
Or if I ever needed anything, I could press the buzzer in my hand and in just a few seconds, she'd be at my bedside to get me whatever I needed and usually this was at super odd times like 3 a.m. but there she was, doing her noble job as a nurse, helping me feel even slightly better in such a foreboding place as a hospital, no matter what time it was.
So in such a crazy life where focus is always drawn to jobs of the daytime, we often forget that not everyone is coming home from work at 5 p.m; many are actually heading to it.
And even if we don't come into contact with these workers on a regular basis, we all have, and all will in the future.
Therefore, take comfort knowing that if you become suddenly ill in the twilight hours, or need to pick up medication/a coffee/ get on the red-eye flight or what have you, there will always be someone who is burning the midnight oil and can help you out.
CM
