A thank you to the night shift workers keeping things running
While most of us sleep, night shift workers keep hospitals, highways, stores and phone lines working until morning.
It is one in the morning, and for a lot of people this is the middle of the workday. Nurses are checking on patients. Truck drivers are covering miles on quiet highways. Someone is stocking shelves so the store looks ready at opening time.
Most of us only notice this work when we are awake at an odd hour. We see the lights on at the gas station or the cleaning crew in an office building, and we remember that the world does not actually stop at night.
Working nights has real costs. People who do it often sleep while their families are awake and miss dinners, school events and ordinary daytime plans. They adjust their whole lives so the rest of us can find things working when we wake up.
I think they deserve more thanks than they usually get. A kind word at the counter or a little patience on a late phone call can mean a lot to someone six hours into a shift.
If you know someone who works nights, send them a message they can read on their break. Tell them you noticed.