The Saturday That Never Slept…

It all started when I said I would work overtime…again.  I don’t know why I KEEP forgetting that I am really not about the overtime life.  Coming in on a day off, losing precious  time that I could be doing so many better things, I just don’t like it.  Some people at work love the money; I even thought I would earn up some points to avoid being ordered later.  Then I realized most of my squad has like 87 points and that wasn’t going to happen.  And it was eight hours on a Friday night at that.  Clearly I was foolish and made a mistake.  Well this overtime ended at 0630 on a Saturday morning, and no one wants to waste their whole next day off sleeping.  I simply had to make a plan.

For those of you that have never worked an over night shift, it can be brutal to try and be a normal person on your days off.  It requires switching around your sleep patterns several times in one week, and often going without sleep for whole days at a time depending on what you are trying to accomplish.  Pair that with the fact that most “day walkers” do not realize what we are up against, and wonder why we are tired.  It’s because we worked 12 hours and then stayed up to go on a trip with them, or have a meal or whatever.  Working nights really is not for everyone, and certainly not for the faint at heart.  When we as night shifters, or “mids kids” as I have dubbed us, make the commitment to stay awake-we are about it.  There have been times that I have gone a few days and only survived on naps.  If I REALLY want to do something or go somewhere, I will sacrifice the sleep.

So this past Saturday…after the dreaded overtime, I had a plan.  My Crazy and Fun coworker had asked if I wanted to meet up with him for kick boxing in the morning, and of course I did! He had bought three classes at the gym I go to and had already been to his first one, so he wanted me to come with him and..well, be crazy and fun! This guy is about to be my trainee at work, meaning I will be in charge of making sure he is capable of doing the dispatch (talking to officers) side of our job. We have a good relationship, but hes a little nervous about me potentially yelling, kicking things, and throwing things. As a Training Officer, I can at times be a tad intense, and there have been stories for years now.  So to take the edge off a bit, we had thought it would be a good idea to go hit some stuff together! He is currently in class on a day time schedule, and the 1015 am start time of the class did not seem to be a huge deal to him.  I agreed, and thought..ok I can get two and a half hours of sleep between work and gym.  Well per usual for me at times, I ended up getting into some shenanigans and only got about one hour.

I arrived at the gym, amped to see all my workout friends, punch and kick away  some stress, and maybe have a few laughs with my co worker.  What I did not expect-and really I should have-was that he was going to be a complete goof, and also get thru the work out without even sweating that much.  He works on his fitness on the regular, so I should have known, but its whatever. I had a great work out, the Trainers are always super enthusiastic, there’s great music playing, and my coworker actually learned a few things from me as well.  After the warm up, after the bag drills, after the partner drills, and after the stretching…I had something else in mind!

At the same intersection as the gym that I go to, I had a few weeks prior, seen something that really piqued my interest.  A Food Truck rally!!! Y’all I love food trucks.  Its fun to walk around looking at menus, smelling the smells and seeing the sights, meeting the people, and seeing what the wonderful folks in these trucks can do with such limited space.  This particular rally had a theme that I could really jump onboard with…..TACO TAKEOVER!!! I had full intentions of leaving the gym and going across the street to stuff my face with all the tacos that were there to be eaten.  I texted a few other friends, and headed over with my coworker, whom I might add changed after the gym to leave me looking like a sweaty mess on my own.  It had just started when we arrived, and we walked around, me pointing out the trucks I was familiar with and deciding on the best plan of attack.  We decided to start with a  truck that I have eaten from before and love, called Whats the Catch.  They were the first truck I ever ate from all those years ago when I was but a fledgling foodie.  We both decided on the Key West taco which consists of grilled mahi, lettuce, pico de gallo, and some cilantro lime sauce.  This taco was perfect, everything that is to be loved about tacos, and a healthy bite as well. Washed down with a cold beer, I felt the familiar feeling that I was getting full.  Oh no’s! We ended up walking around and not eating anything more, despite all the amazing looking offerings.

I had finished the first leg of my day and went home.  This time I was able to sleep about four hours before I had to get moving again. Next, I would be strapping on my cowboy boots and going to a concert! As a thank you for our hard work during the storm, the Sheriff’s Office had scored some of us tickets to see TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL!!  As a lover of country music, and also live shows, I was super excited.  I had asked one of my friends that also enjoys country music to come with me, and in no time I was parked at my nearby work parking lot and ready to go! Its only a short walk from the Police Headquarters to most the major concert venues here in Jacksonville, so I save on the redic parking prices, and take a stroll with other friends heading that way.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The concert was packed, loud, and at times pitch black dark.  These are some things that from time to time aggravate my anxiety.  For some reason as soon as the music starts, I don’t mind all the people and all the noise. I no longer care that much that someone just spilled a beer on my legs, or that so and so in the next row over is climbing up on the chairs.  There is just something so magical about a live concert to me.  It could be a huge one like this with mega stars involved, or nine people standing around a guy with a guitar in the park, I just love live music. The concert was a good two hours long, we heard all the songs that we love the most, and even some I had forgotten about. Tim and Faith put on one hell of a show, and I sang my heart out right along with them, even learning that night how to go Facebook live (don’t judge me).  Afterwards my friend and I went to a nearby place and had a couple drinks in celebration of a great night, and then I headed home.

This is just one example of the ways that we all have choices in the way that we live our lives.  I decided that night before, while working over time that I was just going to power thru the day with only little naps here and there, and you know what? It was totally worth it. I regret nothing, and I would do it all over again. It does kind of remind me of a song by Tim McGraw,  and who knows..maybe y’all will soon be reading about me going skydiving, or rocky mountain climbing.