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Monday, November 3, 2008

Save the Daylight

I've heard some complaints lately about falling back into daylight savings -- it messes with the household routine, kids wake up too early, it gets dark by 5pm, it signals the true end of summer.   Personally, I love daylight savings time.

First of all there's the simple novelty of the time changing.  In the same way I look forward to the mail everyday to break up the tedium of a long afternoon, the fact that something in my day or week is different delights me.  

I enjoy daylight savings on both ends.  In the spring, just when my kids are waking up earlier and earlier... it's time to switch the clocks forward and we all sleep past 6am.  Then spring turns into summer, summer turns into fall and I notice myself saying, "we don't have time to brush teeth, grab your backpack we're going to be late for school!"  Then we switch the clocks back an hour and my mad dash morning problems are solved.  The kids wake up earlier and we have time for proper dental hygiene, a decent breakfast, wardrobe negotiations and sometimes I even have time to braid the girl's hair.  All is right with the world again.

An added bonus of fall back is the earlier bedtime.  I am a firm believer in early to bed, early to rise -- especially for small children.   Please don't tell my kids that not all their friends go to bed at 6:30pm.  

5 comments:

Melissa said...

I like the earlier stuff, too. It was so easy getting the kids ready for school without the battle to getout of bed. Too bad it won't last very long....

Anonymous said...

It WAS very nice, getting the kids to bed early last night, and having SO much extra time to get ready this morning. I actually put on make up and did my hair!

BUT... Blythe was already getting up at 5:30, which was a really, really nice change from her usual 4:30 wake up. Now we're back to 4:30. It comes TOO early!

Kate Coveny Hood said...

I was all excited to have my late sleeper, Oliver (who was ironically enough - the baby that didn't sleep for the first two years of his life) out of bed on his own during the week. Typically, to get him out the door at the right time, I have to turn on lights, pull covers off of him, poke him, tickle him, send his brother and sister in to jump up and down on his bed...while he just rolls over, puts a pillow over his head, crawls back under the covers, turns the light back off... He went to bed exactly one hour earlier last night (yeah!), but no change the following morning. I still had to sit on him to make him even open his eyes. It's like having a teenage son instead of a three year old. At least the twins were up and ready to go at 6 a.m....

EatPlayLove said...

I don't mind it either. Although our tradition is to just keep the clocks the way they are until morning. This weekend worked out just pleasantly as the girls slept until 7:30.

Anonymous said...

I won't tell yours if you don't tell mine. She's 9 and still in the bed by 7:30. Beautiful.