|
Springing Forward & Falling Back
By J Gardener
Somewhere deep down in your subconscious, you know you have a few more
minutes to sleep, before the alarm goes off. You hug your pillow, and in the
recesses of your mind, you smile, relishing this quiet time, between waking and
dreaming.
"Mommy!!!! We're gonna be late!!!"-it's a slap, sharper than any alarm clock.
Your eyes snap open-there he is, your five-year-old, up and dressed already for
kindergarten, standing by your bed.
He's right! It's too light out-the sun is shining through the window! He
should be at school, already! The alarm didn't go off! You forgot to set it! His
day's ruined! Your day's ruined! Everything's ruined!
Panicked, you throw off the covers, spring out of bed, and rush about,
grabbing clothes, shouting incoherent instructions to your son, your husband,
and the dog, while silently praying that you're not really having a heart attack
and that your breathing will resume normally, one day soon…
And then, the alarm clock goes off. You glance at your watch on the
night-stand-what? The alarm clock is correct. Then, you realize…
Oh, right… Yesterday was the last Sunday in October. You set the clocks
back.
You collapse onto the bed, relieved-but-already-exhausted, waiting for the
pounding in your head to subside. You're saved, but your day's still ruined-if
only you could have enjoyed those last five minutes of sleep…
And, of course, your son asks, on the way to school-why? Why did we change
what seemed like a perfectly respectable way of keeping time? Why is it later
now, than it was last week-but it's still the same time as when we always go to
school?
Do you know the answer?
The idea of time changes-from Standard Time to Daylight Saving and back-has
actually been around for quite a while. Benjamin Franklin proposed adopting time
changes, back in the 1780's. But it wasn't until the early 1900's that European
countries mandated the changes, as a way of saving energy.
As the sun rises earlier and earlier in the Spring, people rise from sleep
into bright daylight, at a time when energy use is low, anyway. And, as the sun
sets later and later in the Summer, the need for electricity to light our homes
is put off until later in the evening. So, governments decided, why not take
advantage of the sun while we have it?
If we push our clocks ahead in the Spring and Summer, then we delay until
late into the evening the need for electric lighting-we're actually "saving
daylight", and using less energy. There are other benefits, as well. Fewer
traffic accidents occur in daylight than darkness, and crime is significantly
lower in daytime than at night.
Then, why "fall back" to Standard Time, in the Autumn? The daylight hours are
few enough in the Fall and Winter, that they're better utilized for productivity
when they occur earlier, according to the clock.
There-expain that to your five-year-old. Or, just tell him that mothers
everywhere want the sun to come up earlier, so that they can better see their
handsome sons in the morning, as they go off to school. About the Author Brought to you by Imaginary Greetings, a regular contributor of valuable family oriented content. For additional tips on how to truly light up your child's eyes this holiday season like never before with personalized letters from Santa Claus.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/38430.html
If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/38430.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
Some other articles by J Gardener | Sharing the Joy at Christmas time Terri is one of those women other mothers either envy or resent. With two
boys, both under six, she's always sunny ...
On the Plane with Kids It's not "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house",
anymore. Your new and growing family lives a thousand miles away from your
childhood home, so ...
Presents Vs. Time It's hard enough for most parents
to arrange good, quality family-time, under normal circumstances. But in
December, with holiday preparations dominating ...
Parents Can Help Each Other At Christmas The first few years that they were parents, Gail and Darin dreaded the stress
of the Christmas season. The difficulty of shopping with a child in a stroller
made an already arduous task ...
Planning for Christmas Past Your child's at the age, now, when she understands that Christmas is coming,
and that it's a very special day, so you're going out of your way to make sure
you don't ...
Enjoy the Snow Remember how your parents always seemed old to you, even before they reached
middle age? They could never relate to you, they could never remember what it
was like to be ...
|
|
| |