Monday, November 8, 2010

Darker Evenings but Brighter Mornings

The time change has finally come, and I am ready for it this year.  I think the extension of Daylight Savings Time - starting earlier and ending later - is a big improvement.  I'm prepared for shorter days by the time the temperature drops in November, and it feels like spring comes a little sooner with the earlier leap forward in March.  Why didn't someone think of this sooner?

It's always hard to leave warm, long days behind and prepare for winter chill and earlier darkness, but there's also something comforting and cozy about it.  I love the feeling of my family being safely tucked in for the day earlier in the evening.  Soccer practices come to an end, and our dinner time naturally shifts earlier leaving us with more together time before heading off to bed.

Mornings, on the brighter side, don't feel so middle-of-the-night, at least for a while.  It is refreshing to head out across the Cape at 7 AM, in daylight instead of darkness, for my Monday morning orchestra carpool, making it easier to dodge the high schoolers crawling through the streets on their way to school.  I find it a little creepy on dark, foggy mornings the way they materialize through the mist - like the walking dead.  As with most things, they are not as frightening in the light of day.  What IS frightening is that I will be a parent of one of them next year...

Everyone make an extra effort to get your full eight hours of sleep to head off the ill effects of our time-shifted world.  Statistics bear out an increase in traffic accidents and general fatigue following time changes.  Be extra alert as you head out into the week, and return home safely to the Cape, before darkness falls if you can, to your bright, warm homes.  It's time to hunker down a little as winter descends.  It's a special time of year in its own right, and we can be secure in the knowledge that it will be followed by a joyful spring forward in a few short months. www.tips-fb.com

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