Interrupted

 

Why 3am?

For the last several years, I have been waking up at 3am every single night. While I was still teaching, that was rough! I woke up every morning at 5am to go to work! Why did I wake up? My brain was trying to process everything that had been going on. Now that I’ve been retired for almost 2 months, I still wake up at 3am, but I can get back to sleep a little easier, knowing 5am isn’t a problem anymore.

Interrupted!

The other night, however, there was a problem. I had a nice day: exercise, writing, taking care of my dog. That night my husband and I watched a new episode of one of our favorite shows. It was a nice day! Then somewhere between 11pm-2am, it happened…BEEP! Why is it that the battery in the smoke detector ALWAYS dies in the middle of the most restful sleep? BEEP! The dog was not having it. She tried to tunnel under the bed to get away…BEEP! No good. My husband and I had the same thought that climbing on a stool at this hour was not a great idea…BEEP! He tried closing the door to see if we could sleep…BEEP! Finally, after much trepidation he made the supreme sacrifice, climbed onto the stool and replaced the offending battery. Ahhh! Sleep at last! Well, not for everyone. After the brain activity required to accomplish this feet, his brain would not let him go back to sleep. It was 4am and his waking hour was much too close. The dog was grateful and so was I for his supreme sacrifice.

Pay Attention

This interruption reminded me of 9/11. I was teaching high school chorus then. My 2^nd period class was falling behind on their concert preparations. I was still a young teacher and at times, I could be easy to knock off task if lead astray. The concert was looming. I knew what I needed to do! As the bell rang and my 1^st period filed out, I mentally prepared myself to stay the course. As my students began arriving, one by one they were making requests to turn on the television. No, no, no! I would not give in. Each of their protests were met with a decisive no. That is until the announcement over the PA instructed all teachers to turn on the television. Together we watched as the Twin Towers fell. In truth, I know I should have listened sooner. Through the years, I have reminded myself of that day. Students often have important things to say. Sometimes what they need to tell us is more important than today’s lesson. Sometimes it is not, but we will not know which it is until we hear what they have to say. Isn't that what we all want anyway? We want someone to listen to what we have to say.