I'm Only the Trombone Player

The Bells, The Bells!

Strangely enough one of the things I miss most about not working as normal is the Lack of Bells.

Not the bells from any nearby House of Worship, rather the bells that governed the school day. The bells for more than twenty-five years pretty much governed my day.

There was a bell that told me the hallways should be clear, all the kiddies tucked away in their Homerooms, waiting for attendance, announcements and the next bell to send them off their first-period classes and me to my office and the start of my "administrative" periods.

There was a bell that announced coffee break time, prep period time, lunchtime, and finally the arrival of my teaching periods. I never realized how much I'd miss those bells, partitioning off my day into neat forty-three minute segments. Finally the last bell, another day over, but wait, really that one signaled the "extra afterschool help" period. The real end of the day was the late bus announcement.

Being totally "free" of the bells led to the start of bad habits. Staying up too late, sleeping in too much. Luckily I found 🎄pwheeler joy to the world 's , "Habit Heroes " , which got that aspect back under control. Taking it a step further, my phone now chirps happily at lunchtime, reminding me to get off the computer and eat. Another chirp chases me out into the yard for a brief walk.

Somewhere along the way, I came to depend on the bells. I guess that's not a bad thing. I just wonder when it happened?