God bless us everyone!
God bless the people that HAVE to work tonight and tomorrow. Healthcare workers, first responders and servicemen and women come to mind. It’s not like being in solitude but it can sure feel lonely sometimes.
For years I had to wake up early on Christmas and round. My children couldn’t open their presents until noon or 1, not that they really minded. They got so used to it, when I got cross-coverage and didn’t have to work on Christmas, they thought it was weird to have the presents opened by 10AM.
The last Christmas I had to work was in 2002. I was a Correctional Sergeant, and had actually gotten the day off because of seniority, but then they turned around, and scheduled me to work the midnight shift that night, so I told them to give the day to someone else. I worked 16 hours straight (3-11 and 11-7), and vowed it would be the last Christmas I would ever work for New York State, and it was.