When you ask your patient to state the date, do you ever have to glance at your own watch to know for sure?

When nurses stay chronically busy, working twelve-hour shifts, nights, and/or weekends in the confines of one unit, it can be hard to keep track of time. We may even lose track of events in the outside world. Day becomes night and night becomes day until, finally, we have a day off. It can feel as if we suddenly wake up and realize that life has been going on without us.

I am home from work today. This morning, I was besieged by my ever-growing list of domestic responsibilities. On my days off, it’s hard to avoid running at a frantic pace as I tackle errands, tend to home and garden, and catch up on personal and professional correspondence. But, the truth is that I am so much happier when I take time to smell the jasmine that is now in full bloom in my tiny garden, or to listen to the music of birds and crickets in my yard.

Just this morning, as I watered my tomato plants, I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a honeybee buzzing among the blossoms. Like nurses, honeybees seem to be in short supply these days. They, too, are in the news. People are asking, where have all the honeybees gone? How can we attract and retain them in our locales? Yet, here I was, suddenly gazing down at a vibrantly busy honey bee. I wondered if it, too, was feeling a bit overworked. Are the bees quitting the fields or are they simply busier than usual? Like nurses, they seem to be working longer shifts, spread among so many blooms.

After spotting the honeybee I decided – as I often do – that my “to-do” list can wait. I don’t recall it ever being completed, anyway. Why the rush? It’s almost summertime, with the onset of hotter days and muggier nights. Soon, fireflies will be darting among the evening foliage and the scent of honeysuckle will linger heavily in the evening air. It’s time to rest and reorient my priorities before I jump back into the working routine.

No doubt, tomorrow my days will become nights, once again, as I bustle through another twelve-hour shift. But, today it is time for me to rejuvenate and enjoy the outside world. I intend to spend it wisely – at least what’s left of today. Before long, it too, will become night. And the cycle will continue.