Last night, I realized, as I do every year, that it wasn’t really 12:30 this morning, but still effectively 11:30 last night. In that moment, as I do every year, I considered Daylight Saving Time (or, technically, the end of it) a beautiful thing.
This morning, I awoke entirely too early. Sleeping late is still one of the finer pleasures in life for me, and I only get to partake of this pleasure on weekends as a rule. So, being suddenly wide awake at 6:30 this morning as the sun illuminated the bedroom in horizontal, staccato slats through the venetian blinds, was an unduly harsh reality for me. I was up and productive by 7:00. I was out and about by 9:00. This is uncalled for on a Sunday morning. I’m usually a few minutes late for an 11:15 worship service. What had happened? What horrid metamorphosis had occurred???
Of course, I enjoyed the extra time as the day progressed, and I realized that perhaps now that the sun is up at the time of our alarm clock, I might actually begin to regain some sense of punctuality through the work week. This seemed like a good enough thing. But, as happens every year, the pleasure wore off when it was dark outside by 5:30.
Anyone who has visited here for more than a few months realizes that I really, really, really hate winter. Bleak skies and early dusk are unduly oppressive to me, and I can’t think of many things I hate worse than being cold (defined as anytime I have to wear long sleeves). All in all, I just don’t do well when I’m deprived of sunlight, and, while I know the logic is that we’ll have the sunlight on the other end of the day now, realistically there just isn’t as much light between now and February, regardless of how you do the math.
I’ll be screwed up for days.
I understand that Daylight Saving Time is there to assist the agricultural areas of our country, and to save energy and reduce traffic accidents, etc. etc. Franklin had a great idea, and a grand social experiment it was. Applause, applause. At the end of the day, though (whenever that actually occurs now…I won’t be sure for a week or two), I don’t think the government has any business meddling in time. They didn’t invent it, they have minimal control over it, and we’re already slaves to the clock anyway. Attempting to control time is above their ridiculous pay grade. Why can’t they just go away and leave us alone?
I think all of us should follow the example of Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, even some counties in Indiana (I think), and stop observing any time change altogether. As I understand it, energy savings and other benefits are minimal, and surely the consistency would be better for everyone all the way around.
That being said, I’m going to go try to figure what I should be doing for the next couple of hours while my body is screaming to me that its bedtime as of an hour or more ago. Oh, the joys of tinkering with the clock of life.