The question of the day: “What time do you go to bed and wake up right now?”

For a teacher in the heart of summer, that question has two very different answers—the current one, and the one looming just around the corner.

In theory, summer should be a complete break from the rigid structure of the school year. And when it comes to waking up, it is. But bedtime? That’s a different story.

I’ve always been a bit of a night owl. I don’t get tired as early as most people, and I tend to play catch-up with all the TV shows and movies I miss during the school year. Before I know it, it’s 11:30 p.m.—or later—and I’m still wide awake.

During summer, that’s not so terrible. My current alarm clock is of the four-legged variety. Mornings are for tending to our two dogs: Princess, a sweet pitbull mix we rehomed from the Humane Society, and Samantha, a recent stray-turned-family-member who might be part Australian Kelpie.

During the school year, my wife, Daryl, handles the morning dog duties—her schedule starts later than mine. But in the summer, I’m glad to take the lead. It’s a slower start: coffee, dogs, and a quiet house. Sometimes I’m up by 8 a.m., sometimes later. No rush. No bells.

But that same late-night rhythm becomes a different beast when August rolls around. An 11:30 bedtime and a 6 a.m. alarm? Brutal. I know I need to start easing my way back to a more sustainable routine.

And with July marching on, I can already hear the other clock ticking—the one that wakes me before the sun, the one that marks time in bells and blocks, meetings and morning duty. So I’ll start the slow shift: waking a little earlier, turning in a little sooner, nudging my body back toward the rhythm of the school year.

It’s the classic teacher’s dilemma—living by two clocks. One for summer. One for school. And trying, somehow, to make peace with both.

Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt