Saturday, October 29, 2011

Thanks, Benjamin. Where Did the Time Go?

It's early on a Saturday...dark thirty as I like to say. I can't believe that October is almost over. In our neck of the woods, we'll be changing our time back to Eastern Standard Time next weekend. I'm never happy about that even though we supposedly get back the hour we lost when Daylight Savings Time started back in the spring.

EST always messes me up. Instead of automatically waking up at 5:30 AM, I'm wide awake at 4:30 AM! And no matter how much I try to doze back to sleep, it doesn't happen. And then I'm falling asleep by 8 PM. It's very disconcerting.

All this time changing is supposedly traced back to Benjamin Franklin. He decided that because it took so long to travel to and fro to shops (horse and buggy days back then, but you knew that), it would be a good thing in the spring to jump ahead an hour. This way the shops could stay open longer and take advantage of the extra light.

I try not to think about this logic too much since it's taxing on my brain, and I don't like taxing my brain this way except with crossword puzzles and word searches. In truth, I'd just like the "powers that be" to keep it one way or another. When we were on a western road trip a few years back, Arizona had so many time changes, we never knew what time it was. Of course, it didn't really matter because we were on vacation, and time on vacation is a null and void condition.


It used to be really difficult back when our children were young. When we'd say in the spring before school was over for the year, "Time for bed," the kids would say protestingly, "But it's still light outside." Of course, we'd always answer that it didn't matter, but it really did matter. Going to bed when it's light outside is just unnatural, unless you have a 3rd shift job. Then all bets are off, and that's another story entirely.

Of course, we never ate supper until 9 o'clock during Daylight Savings Time, and the dog and cat would be at the door waiting for their food with puzzled looks around their muzzles because I was still in EST mode. Of course, with no young children at home anymore, this is pretty much a moot point. We do have pets, however. Poor things.

I really haven't decided which is worse...driving to work in the dark or driving home from work in the dark. It's rare that I drive to and back in the dark, but it happens.

This weekend is the last for DST once more. I'll gird my loins and prepare for even earlier mornings. Thanks a bunch, Benjamin.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We don't like it much over here either and even less since it changed to coincide with yours.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I love daylight savings time and wish it was always like that. It always gets me down when darkness comes early.