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I should be in bed.

It's Saturday, 3 a.m., and it's really cold outside as I leave my house. At this hour, I should be driving north for a day of fishing, but no such luck. I'm heading to work, and I don't want to go.

The roads are silent along the way. I drive past the empty 24-hour 7-11 and the dark strip mall along San Antonio Drive Northeast as I head toward Jefferson Street. In the distance a lonely car heads toward me, and I swerve to the right just a little as it passes, just in case it's a drunken driver. All is calm and safe as I pull into the parking lot. Time to wake up and get to work.

Once a month, it's my turn to work the morning photo desk at The Albuquerque Tribune. I've done it many times throughout my 25-year career at The Trib. No matter what time I go to bed the night before, I always struggle the next morning when the alarm rings. My first thought: "How am I going to make it though this day?"

But it's really not that bad once the work starts. I'm so busy that the time seems to fly. The office is closed to the public, so we can be more laid-back on Saturday mornings. In the winter months, warm sweat shirts and jeans are the norm. In the summer, it's shorts, sandals and T-shirts — though copy Editor Ali Patterson wraps herself in her purple blanket year-round.

It's an odd hour to be up, and the work is tough when you're sleepy. But at the end of the day, I always remember the fun exchanges and the lighter moments of the morning.

It's a little scary to admit, but someday when this is all over, I will miss the Saturday morning shift. But don't tell anybody.