Dear Abby: I just read the letter from a fellow frustrated night shifter, “Working a 40-Hour Week at Age 73” (Dec. 20). I have worked 12-hour shifts for many years to accommodate our family life. It is easier for me to be home in the morning to get the kids to school and be home when they get off the bus in the afternoon. I have the early evening free to get them to their activities, then go to work later.

I thoroughly agree that the rest of the world does not understand! I’ve had the strangest requests from people because I’m home during the day. My solution has been to turn off our home phone and sleep with my cellphone on (in case one of the kids gets sick at school or some other dire emergency). This year I made a laminated sign for my front door, asking for peace and quiet. It says, “Please do not ring my doorbell. Night-shift worker sleeping at this time.” — Sleepless in Wisconsin

Dear Sleepless: Thanks for your letter. Your fellow night shifters were in complete agreement with you. My newspaper readers comment:

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