Working at a school—regardless of your position—comes with its own brand of daily adventure. 

Teachers plan lessons.

Counselors balance emotions.

Secretaries manage the pulse of the front office.

Custodians keep everything moving behind the scenes. 

And no matter how carefully you prepare, there is a predictable unpredictability that comes with working in education. Schedules look solid on paper. The day begins with promise. 

And then… the hallways wake up.

The rhythm starts soft—measured, predictable.

But experience has taught you… it won’t stay that way.

Backpacks swing like pendulums. Questions fly before coffee has settled.

Energy hums through the building like electricity through old wiring.

You can feel it—something is coming. You just don’t know what yet.

Some days, being the Dean of Students feels like conducting a well-rehearsed orchestra. 

The halls hum with rhythm: tardy slips are handed out with precision, emails answered in a timely cadence, and even the morning coffee tastes like victory. 

You move through the day knowing exactly which meetings, calls, and conflicts will land where, and somehow, magically, it all runs like a well-oiled machine. 

Butter on a warm roll.

Then there are other days. The kind where every plan falls out of rhythm, where a perfectly choreographed morning turns into improvisational chaos. Phones ring at once, a fire drill interrupts a meeting, and you spend twenty minutes negotiating the proper placement of a misplaced lunch tray that somehow turned into an epic standoff. 

Manageable! Yes. 

Inconvenient? No Doubt.

Survivable? With enough coffee and patience, mostly.

Then there are those days when you know those monkeys broke out, stole all the coffee, and went on a rampage. These are the days that go sideways, often without warning. 

A kid trips in the hallway, and suddenly his hangnail requires immediate triage.

Three of four substitutes call in sick — At. The. Last. Minute!

The copier jams mid-report.

The internet goes out — no phones, no emails, no bells.

The radios technically work… but the batteries don’t.

The signal? Sketchy at best.

Somewhere, a student is inexplicably riding a scooter down the hall. 

And all this before mid-morning break.

Before the second cup of coffee.

Before the day has officially found its rhythm.

You just stare, hands on hips, muttering, 

“I told you…these monkeys are getting organized.”

The coffee? The coffee is there, thank god, but its cold.

But here’s the thing: after the fire drills, the coffee runs, the minor rebellions, and the occasional scooter cavalcade, the rhythm returns. Not perfect, not always graceful, but steady enough to know tomorrow, maybe, just maybe, the orchestra will play in tune again. 

And you’ll be ready—with extra coffee, a sharper sense of humor, and maybe a little respect for the chaos that keeps you on your toes.

Because truth be told, the rhythm isn’t in the quiet days.

It’s in the recovery.

In the reset.

In showing up again tomorrow.

Ready to do it all again.

Because in education, resilience runs on caffeine… and selective memory.

There’s more waiting at https://xinkblotz.com. Telling stories, sharing thoughts, and drinking coffee. A blend of fiction, reflection, and whatever’s brewing – one post at a time.