Alertness In School
vs. carelessness
Being aware of what is taking place around me so I can respond appropriately
To practice Alertness I will:
- tell others of danger
- keep my eyes and ears open
- recognize and heed warning signals
- stay away from unsafe places
- choose to do right before I’m tempted
‘Ready! Fire! Aim!’
– Bill Croskey
The other morning, I woke up to the clock radio alarm. As I finished shaving, I noticed the light on my shaver flashing, signifying that it needed a recharge. I heard the coffee maker beep, signifying the coffee was ready. I walked downstairs with my cell phone vibrating in my pocket, indicating that I had a text message waiting. I poured my cup of coffee. I sat down to read the text message and my laptop “dinged,” denoting that I had just received an e-mail. As I put down the cell phone (without actually retrieving the text), I opened my e-mail. But out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the kitchen faucet blinking. That meant that the water filter was about worn out and it was time to replace it. I opened the refrigerator door and the filter on the ice maker was burning red instead of green. Time to replace THAT filter. Completely forgetting about the text and the e-mails, I went to the garage to find the replacement filters. As I walked by the dryer, I heard it “buzz.” The clothes were dry. (That’s not as handy as the dryers in college dorms, which are programmed to send students an e-mail when their clothes are dry!) The house phone rang. It was a Xavier University automatic call letting me know that the power was out on campus. Ding! More e-mails. Beep, the microwave was done warming my coffee, which had gotten cold while I was looking for the filters. Vibration, letting me know a text had just come through! I stuck everything in the closet and went back to bed. But the snooze alarm went off 45 seconds after I pulled up the covers.