The best perk of being an RT is lots of days off

One thing I really like about working as an RT is 12 hour shifts. If you are going to have to be there for eight hours you might as well stay an extra four. It may get tough sometimes near the end of some busy nights, but the reward for working those four extra hours is more days off.

Basically, I work so I can get days off. And however much you might enjoy being an RT, or an RN, or whatever you do at the hospital, not working is much better than working.

Even if it's an extremely slow night where you have plenty of time to balance your checkbook, finish off two novels and gossip with your pals, that still doesn't beat not working.

Where I work there are only two of us who work the bulk of the night shift hours, so we got together about eight years ago and agreed upon a schedule where I get six days off in a row every other week, and he gets five days off every other week plus every Friday off.

Right now I'm on the tail end of six off. It's nice because it's like a mini vacation without taking any days off.

In the summer when I want to stretch out my six days, I only need to burn 24 PTO hours and I get ten days off. In essence, I calculated last summer that I burned only four days of PTO to get 40 days off in June and July. That's 40 days off right in the heart of summer.

We do have to work every other weekend, but so what. When you work at a hospital, it's far more relaxing and enjoyable working on the weekends than during the week anyway. In fact, if it weren't for graduations and weddings, I'd volunteer to work every weekend.

Anyway, 40 days off in June and July is pretty awesome. There aren't many jobs that give you this much flexability. I suppose, if you are pondering being an RT, this is a pretty darn good incentive.

And, considering it's been very busy at work lately, it makes me appreciate these days off all the more. Days off are nice.

Snowmobiles make sledding twice as fun

When we were kids we had plenty of hills behind our house to go sledding on. There were small ones for when we were little, and then their were big and steep ones for when we were older.

We even had one hill with a great big jump on it if you were brave enough to try it, because right after you landed you had to quickly jump off your sled or run into a big pine tree.

Whichever hill we used, we always had to trudge back up. This was probably one of the best ways we stayed fit and trim during the long winter months.

When my son was four I remember taking him sliding at my parents home on the same hills I used to slide on when I was that age, and I had to carry him up the hill. This was a blast for my son, and it was great seeing him so happy. However, after doing this four or five times I was exhausted.

Those days are gone. Yesterday I took my 4 YO daughter to one of my nursing freind's homes to go sliding (the son was at school), and instead of hauling our kids back up the hill we tied the sled to the back of a snowmobile. Not only was this a blast for the kids, it was a blast for us adults too.

And when we were done sliding we took turns letting our kids drive the snowmobile. Of course we had to put our thumbs behind the gas to prevent the kids from going to fast, because they have a natural tendency to do just that. It was a blast.

We didn't get the work out we used to, and that coupled with the hot chocolate and brownies that were dished out afterwords might even cause us to add a few pounds instead of the opposite.

Nonetheless, this was a great way for the both of us to relax and forget about life for a while; to forget about how busy it was at work over the weekend; to forget that we have to go back to that place sought to forget the next night.

This is why I am proud of my job as an RT

Where I work there are only two of us who work nights on a regular basis, so about 8 years ago we got together and tinkered with our schedule. We created the ideal work schedule for the both of us.

My schedule works perfect for a family man, because every other week I have six days off in a row -- it works out like a mini vacation.

I do have to work a four day weekend every other week, but it comes right after my six off, so I'm usually well rested. Basically, I'm four on, two off, two on, and then six off. It's the kind of schedule most people only dream of.

If I want to take a longer vacation, usually all I need to do is take off the two day stretch in the middle of the week and I have ten days off. I usually do this three times in the summer. Last summer I added the days up, and I had over 50 days off in June, July and August. How's that for cool

One of my coworkers likes to say, "I work so I can get days off." I love that line because it rings so true where I work.

Yesterday Carrie and I both had off, and we went to the Big City where my family were to meet for our annual Christmas party. I come from a family of six, so getting us all together is very hard these days, especially considering we are spread out all over the state. But, despite the weather forecast of freezing rain and strong winds, we all made it but one of us.

We all had a blast, despite the fact we only had 2 hours to spend there before we had to get going . We wanted more than anything to beat the weather. On the way back the roads started out nice, and continued to get whiter and whiter and narrower and narrower and darker and darker, and I kept driving slower and slower.

By the time I got to Shoreline county I was driving 40 mph, and snow was falling fast. At times it was a complete whiteout, but I kept moving forward hoping to get some view of the road. It was rough, especially with daughter getting impatient in the back seat. It's not easy keeping a tied in 4-year-old entertained in the car.

And, it never fails, that even when you can't see the road and you're driving slow, some trucker passes you going what seems like 100 mph spewing snow and slush into your windshield making it nearly impossible to see. I'm amazed I've never seen one of those guys wipe out in front of me.

Today KK wanted to go outside and make a snowman, and I wanted to take her out, but it rained for most of the day. So instead of going outside I played Super Mario Baseball with JJ, and later played an amalgamate of games with KK. I don't know if my kids will ever appreciate all the time I'm able to spend with them.

When I was a kid (I hated when my mom always said that), my dad worked 10 hour days at his business, and then he came home to eat dinner, and then he left to work on his apartment houses. When he managed to get a day off to spend with us we really appreciated it. My job allows me to spend lots of time with my kids.

I hope they still appreciate it.

Well, I still have three days to go. Carrie is working right now, and she'll work again tomorrow. So pretty much it's just me and the kids until Tuesday. That will be my night to go to dinner or a movie with Carrie. I'm really looking forward to that.

You can't beat this. This is one of the greatest of all the benefits of working as an RT at a small town hospital.

Happy Thanksgiving

Part of being a productive respiratory therapist one must maintain a happy home life. Me, I have a good home life and I'm thankful for it.

I'm thankful for my kids: Here's a couple entertaining kid stories. Some of these happened a few years ago, but regardless I'm thankful for the memories.

1. My son was probably 2 or 2.5, and I cleaned out the fridge and placed a small bottle of stale 7-up on the kitchen table. I went to work and my wife took a nap (with one eye open) on the couch.

My son woke her up. "Mommy, mommy, I was thirsty, but don't worry because I got myself something to drink. I didn't want you to know about it, so I put the cap back on."

My wife looked up and the 7-up bottle was emptly.

2. I let my daughter run around naked to air out herbutt, and while she was doing this I went to the computer to play a little game.

"Yook Daddy, yook, yook," my daughter said just moments after I got involved in the game. At first I tried ignoring her, but she’s too darn cute to ignore. Then she stuck this gift that she had for me right up to my face and said, "Yook, daddy. Yook, yook."

I looked down at her little palm, and thought, "What the heck is this?" Before I realized what it was, I went to grab it:

"Woah!!" I said to myself, "It’s a big poop."

I thought, "What the heck do I do with it?" So I decided, having no other choice, to pick it out of her hand.

"Baby," I said, "Where are these supposed to go?"

"Daddy dot it, Daddy dot it."

Fortunately for daddy, it was a big, solid poop.

3. One of us left the back door open, and we had a little visitor. A few days after placing poison behind the fridge a little mouse was sitting, squeeking, on the rug by the padio door in the dining room.

"Look, daddy, a little mousy. I'm going to pet it."

"No, that's okay," I said, stopping her.

I donked the mouse on the head, because I didn't want to chance it getting away. My daughter was all excited and laughing at this.

I took her into the back yard, and together we dug a hole and burried the little mousy. Moments later I noticed she was digging with her little toy shovel where the mouse was burried.

"What are you doing?"

"I have some peanuts for it," she showed me the acorns in her hand. "I want to get it back up so I can feed it."

Finally I get to be a dad

A day off. Actually, I get the next 6 days off. Ah, this feels nice. It really picked up at work the last two days, which makes having taking time off all the more appreciated.

Even though I work nights, I had to get up at 7:00 this morning because my wife worked last night. She's an OB nurse and she works on my day off. We do this so our kids are always with one of their parents. Nothing like a full swing-like shift. Had to get my kids ready for a soccer game at 8:30. Now, who in there right mind would schedule a soccer game for that time? Probably someone who wants to annoy a night shift RT.

But, like a good dad, I got up bright and early and got my 4 YO to the game on time. They usually play 2 games at the same time as they split the field in half for this age group. Only this day, only my daughters team showed up, with one kid from each of the other teams. We did play, but it was my daughters team against a hodge podge of other kids from various teams.

It's actually funny watching 4 YO's play soccer. Most of the kids, my daughter included, don't care about the game. All they care about is being out there with the other kids and having fun.
After the first game of the year I joked to my friends, "My daughter scored two goals -- for the other team." But she didn't care. She was happy.

Today, however, she scored her first real goal. Her response was no response. The ball went into the goal and it was no big deal. It's neat the 4 YO perspective on things. While parents are on the sidelines screaming for their kids to "kick the ball", or, "don't look at me, pay attention to the game," kids are just playing.

My daughter has a chance to kick the ball into the net. She looks up at me and waves, "Hi daddy." That's the 4 YO perspective on life. While adults are out there making a big deal over nothing, these kids are just out there having fun.

There was one dad whose kid was on the other team. His kid was the little boy who kept scoring a goal every two minutes. "Okay, Troy, that's 2 goals, you only need 4 more." Four minutes later and four goals later by Troy, his dad yells, "Okay, Troy, that's six goals. Now you can let the other kids score."

That's good sportsmanship by Troy's dad (the prick).

There's always one in every crowd.

I just sit there and watch, proud that my daughter is out there giving her all.

We went to McDonalds after the game. Both my kids played on the play area while I sat there and watched. I didn't eat because I'm supposed to be dieting. What a good day I am, hey.

My boy's game was at 11:00. We had to do something to eat this time away (no pun intended), and entertain the kids. They had fun. I had fun watching them.

My boy is 9 YO, and he's getting really good. He even scored a goal today.

It's just nice to be away from work to enjoy life, and I certainly did today.