It's officially winter

I live in Houston, where it never seems to drop below 40F. So how would I know it's winter?

Easy kiddos - the hospital census! Right now is a truly bad time to be a sick child. The hospital is bursting at the seams. Half of the ER is taken up by children waiting on inpatient beds. Let me tell ya folks, that makes for some cranky people. Parents are cranky 'cause the rooms are small and only have a bed for the child. Children are cranky 'cause they're bored out of their ever-lovin' minds. Nurses are irritated 'cause the parents keep asking them for stuff. Doctors are cheesed for several reasons: 1) No ER doc actually wants anything to do with the floors. That's why they work in the ER. So essentially taking care of 'floor patients' in the ER bugs them. 2) The children waiting on floor beds occupy space that should be devoted to acute ER care. The more floor patients stuck in the ER, the more patients stuck in ER waiting. 3) Parents seem to think that MDs control bed availability. They're right - floor MDs control bed availability. Not the schmucks in the ER. So don't complain to ER nurses or docs. They (we) just start not to care after the fourth of fifth complaint.

Let me tell ya, sometimes at work I just wish Old Man Winter would sod off.