Breakfast with the Night Shift Nurses

My wife works the night shift in the labor and delivery unit at our hospital. When her shift ends at seven a.m., she and three of her coworkers go to the same diner for breakfast.

They call it "the debrief." They talk about the babies they delivered, the funny things that happened, the dads who fainted and the grandmothers who tried to sneak in tamales. They laugh so loud the waitress has moved them to the back booth permanently.

Sometimes I join them on my days off. It's a strange, wonderful thing to eat pancakes at seven-thirty in the morning with four exhausted, joyful women who have just helped bring six new people into the world.

My wife says it's the best part of her job, after the babies. The waitress has started bringing them a free plate of bacon "for the baby catchers." They cheer every time.