Opinion

Long live Daylight Saving Time

Friday, November 11, 2011

I never realized there was actually a debate behind the whole "daylight saving time" practice until shortly after my move to Nebraska. I had always assumed there must be some mathematical need for it, pertaining to our calendars or keeping the days bright and the evenings dark. Yes, before I was bald, I was blonde.

My editor is particularly knowledgeable on the subject and quickly enlightened me as to the arguments against the practice. Costs involved, productivity of grumpy workers lost and of course the fact that Arizona and Hawaii do not practice daylight saving time.

It is a rare scenario where I would announce myself to be in opposition of my supervisors on any topic, at least publicly that is, but I gotta say that after the last week I am definitely a fan of the practice. My newfound support is admittedly based purely on the impact the time change has had on my "neck-of-the-woods."

Sunday evening, when 7:15 p.m. rolled around, Declan's biological clock was telling him it was 8:15 p.m., 45 minutes past his bed time. He went to bed cheerfully and without argument. Then, instead of getting out of bed multiple times with one creative excuse after another, he simply fell asleep. It was a thing of beauty.

The next morning Declan and I were up and having breakfast together long before the wake-up alarms were set to sound and to top it off we actually made it to school in time for him to walk in with his classmates. All without the morning scramble and stress.

When serenity suddenly settles in on a parenting zone that is usually mounted with mild chaos, I tend to take notice, Sunday evening and Monday morning were no exception. I have been doing my best to ride that fragile wave of bliss for as long as possible.

I can't say that we have been arriving at the schoolyard early every morning since the time change, but it definitely has been enough to quell our morning madness and make bedtime less of a struggle.

Even if it only lasts this week and next week our biological clocks are adjusted and back in morning madness mode, I will take that annual week of peace and calm and declare myself a fan of daylight saving time for life.

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