Rhythm Shift

For most of our married life, EJ has worked second shift. It has worked well for us. I get up earlier than him in the mornings and he stays up later than I do at night but we are able to spend mid-morning to mid-afternoon together. But now EJ has been moved to first shift. His first day on the new shift is today.

It’s easy to write “EJ has been moved to first shift,” but the move actually has shifted the rhythm of our life. EJ still works four 10-hour shifts but now instead of getting Friday through Sunday off, he works Sunday through Tuesday, gets Wednesday and Thursday off, works Friday, and has Saturday off. It’s messing up my days a bit. Today is Sunday, but because he’s working, I keep thinking it’s Monday.

Traffic patterns will probably change and affect his drive to and from work. Before, he drove to work at 3 pm and drove home at 3 a.m, missing the worst of the traffic. Now he might be affected by morning and evening rush hours. It’s especially bad during tourist season.

EJ will now wake up and go to bed earlier than I do. Also, we won’t have breakfast together and our biggest meal will move to dinner rather than lunch. I never like to eat breakfast right when I get up, so I’m going to try to have a very late breakfast and then eat our main meal together. We shall see how it goes.

Hannah Joy’s schedule might change a bit too. I’m tempted to start getting up earlier to get more in sync with EJ’s schedule. Going to bed earlier is no problem because Hannah and I usually go to bed at 8:30 or 9 pm because that’s when SHE wants to go to bed. She doesn’t like to go to bed alone so she nags me until I go with her; it’s easier that way. I usually read in bed until EJ’s lunch break at 10 pm, when we message each other to catch up on our days. Hannah is used to eating her breakfast as soon as we get up. If I feed her earlier in the morning, she will get hungry earlier in the evening–so do I keep her on the same schedule? When he’s home in the evening, EJ enjoys feeding Hannah. He’ll be home every evening now and would like to feed her, but he won’t get home until 5:30 pm and she likes (nags) to eat earlier. So we will have to figure that out, one way or another. We can’t have our beloved dog feeling hungry.

EJ actually enjoys getting up early in the morning. He texted me this morning that he had a beautiful drive to work. Before, I would study Hebrew, read my Bible, and catch up on my news in the morning. Then EJ would wake up, we’d spend time together, then I’d have to start fixing lunch, then we’d spend a little time together before he left for work. I couldn’t do any noisy chores in the morning (like vacuuming or mowing the lawn) because I didn’t want to wake him up. I work best in the morning and by afternoon it’s too hot to work outside. This morning, I did my morning activities and then went out and worked in my garden in the cool of the day. That was very nice.

Another huge advantage to this new shift is that EJ can stop at the grocery store on his drive home if we need anything. That saves time and gas. Also, he will get home in the late afternoon so I won’t have to stay awake to make sure he made it safely home in winter storms.

There are disadvantages and advantages to every shift and adjustments to be made when moved from one to another. All it takes is a shift in our daily rhythm.