Spring Forward? by Annette Dashofy

Did you remember to change your clocks? More importantly, did you set them ahead? Do we spring forward and fall back? Or spring back and fall forward? Now that I have you questioning whether your clocks are correctly set, let me assure you, we all lost an hour last night.

With smartphones and computers making the shift for us, we’re less likely to find ourselves arriving late for church or Sunday brunch. However, today is one of two days each year when everyone becomes zombies, wandering around in a daze, wondering what time it is. It’s like jetlag without the benefit of having gone anywhere fun.

While I hate the time change hangover, I confess, I’m the only person I know who doesn’t mind the shift in the clock. Yes, I know the argument. In today’s world, the time change is stupid.

The idea of changing the clocks every spring and fall was first proposed in 1784 by good old Benjamin Franklin, although it wasn’t until 1918 that the U.S. passed Daylight Saving Time into law. As a farm gal, I totally “get” it. Back in my hay baling days, we’d be out in the fields working until after 9:00 to get that last wagonload in.

Don’t yell. I also totally “get” that the vast majority of people no longer need that evening daylight anymore. But I grew up celebrating the extra hour of light after supper. It’s one of those signs of spring. Like the groundhog seeing (or not seeing) his shadow, or the first robin, or the appearance of daffodil sprouts. It’s the beginning of the end of my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Instead of eating dinner, washing dishes, and then longing for bedtime, with the later sunset, I’m more inclined to go outside and take a stroll or start cleaning out my flower beds.

I can hear you argue, okay, let’s keep the clocks at DST and not change back to standard time. We’d have more light in the evening all year round.

But just think about those long dark mornings. Do we really want sunrise to be pushed to nearly 9:00 a.m. in December and January? I don’t.

So I stand before you as the lone supporter of springing forward and falling back—even though I too am a zombie. And have a cat whose internal clock has NOT changed.

Dear readers and writer friends, what are your thoughts on the dreaded time change? What are your proposals for fixing it? Or are you like me? Confused but happy to have the extra hour of daylight.