Saving Daylight

My two children were up at the break of dawn every day this week, ready and raring to go. This of course stands in stark contrast with their usual sluggish pace in the mornings. And I blame daylight saving time. See, when we “fall back” their schedules get all turned upside down and they just can’t sleep in like they used to. Which means my wife can’t get those extra moments of sleep that she needs to function at her best. And I get to hear about it.

I remember when I was young and I would live for that “extra hour,” that stolen time that felt like I was doing something illicit in just setting my clock back an hour. I would plan out all the things I would do with the bonus time like play an extra hour of Super Mario Bros. or watch an extra hour of TV or play outside for an extra hour. It was going to be amazing. But then the time would come and nothing would have changed except my level of optimism.

Now I’m hit or miss when it comes to the saving of time. Sometimes it feels like I’m gaining something but most times it’s just a pain to remember and shift accordingly. I guess I’m just confused why we still do it in the first place. I mean, it was originally for farmers to get their crops going earlier and take advantage of the sunlight, but we have technology now that helps in everything, and halogen lamps that can recreate the brilliance of sunlight. Plus, when’s the last time you met an honest to goodness farmer?

I’m all for getting rid of it. I’m sick of my daughters getting up in the middle of the night because they think it’s morning. I’m tired of my internal alarm clock going wonky every time we fall back or spring forward, and the sleepless nights that follow. I can’t stand this time of year when I’m up and it’s pitch black outside. How is that saving time, I ask you? But we just take it as the way the world works and we shift accordingly. Even what shift destroys our sanity for a week until we are finally saved.

And then we wait for spring.

Sam