Daylight Stupid Time
I've had a bad week. My sleep is messed up. My daylight is messed up. It doesn't matter whether we turn the clock back or ahead, it messes me up. My circadian rhythm is out of sync with the universe. I was about to blame it on that moron Benjamin Franklin (who wanted the turkey to be our national emblem), but then I did some research and found that it wasn't him.
Apparently, it was some British bloke who liked to ride early in the morning and got to thinking everyone should ride that early, and that they were missing the best part of the day by sleeping. Also, he liked to play golf and didn't like cutting it short at the end of the day. Pardon moi, if you have nothing to do but ride and play golf, I'm thinking you can do it whatever time of day at all. Unless you're napping in the middle because you didn't get enough sleep at the top or bottom.
I lived in Arizona for several years. Arizona does not indulge the DST. They don't perish. Their sleep is not messed up. And I think they have an insight that the rest of the country may not. And that is this. God decided how many hours of daylight to put on the earth. That is non-negotiable. If you live in Alaska and have 24 hours of sun part of the year and 24 hours of black part of the year, does the time on the clock matter? Who gets to decide when you ride and when you play golf? If you live in Minnesota, you're going to have three hours of light in December and 16 hours of light in July. My kids hated going to bed at eight o'clock when there were still hours of daylight left. Which means that I should let them stay up until ten and wake up at four-thirty when the stupid crow starts squawking?
Aarrgghh. That is my 1:30 AM rant because I can't sleep! I'm sure I'll make it up with my one more hour in the morning. Or one hour less. Fall back . . . spring ahead . . . wait, what?
Apparently, it was some British bloke who liked to ride early in the morning and got to thinking everyone should ride that early, and that they were missing the best part of the day by sleeping. Also, he liked to play golf and didn't like cutting it short at the end of the day. Pardon moi, if you have nothing to do but ride and play golf, I'm thinking you can do it whatever time of day at all. Unless you're napping in the middle because you didn't get enough sleep at the top or bottom.
I lived in Arizona for several years. Arizona does not indulge the DST. They don't perish. Their sleep is not messed up. And I think they have an insight that the rest of the country may not. And that is this. God decided how many hours of daylight to put on the earth. That is non-negotiable. If you live in Alaska and have 24 hours of sun part of the year and 24 hours of black part of the year, does the time on the clock matter? Who gets to decide when you ride and when you play golf? If you live in Minnesota, you're going to have three hours of light in December and 16 hours of light in July. My kids hated going to bed at eight o'clock when there were still hours of daylight left. Which means that I should let them stay up until ten and wake up at four-thirty when the stupid crow starts squawking?
Aarrgghh. That is my 1:30 AM rant because I can't sleep! I'm sure I'll make it up with my one more hour in the morning. Or one hour less. Fall back . . . spring ahead . . . wait, what?
posted by Mom Thumb at 1:30 AM
6 Comments:
AMEN! My little kids have been so messed up all week, and so have I! What I don't get is how this is supposed to help save energy costs.
tracy - Because the powers that be have magically made one more hour of daylight for us. They think. Kudos to you for making it through DSL week running a day care!
My kids and I adjust surprisingly well. My husband? Not so much.
He's been going to bed at 8 most nights this week.
heather - This time of year in Minnesota, I don't remember the DSL bothering me so much. And this year they made it even earlier, so maybe the SAD won't kick in so much.
Living in a place without DST - just Queensland, not the rest of Australia - let me say that it is horrible to wake up at 4:30 in the morning in the summer because that's when the sun is blazing through my curtains and the kookaburras are laughing away. And then you're chased indoors at 7:30 at night because the mosquitoes are out. I miss DST!!!
mooselet - I can see why! Are the mosquitoes down under as big as the ones in Minnesota?
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