Okay…not really, but it sure feels like it lately. The shorter days and longer nights throw off my whole sense of the day and had been made worse with the end of daylight savings. Last week, DH called me on his way home from work to see if I was in the mood for take out. Apologetically, I told him I was already making dinner and it would be ready in a little bit. The phone call ended, but he immediately called me back and asked why I was making dinner at 4:30 when we usually eat at 6. He was panicked because he thought he had forgotten one of our many week night obligations…little did he know, it was just me. Apparently, I go about my daily tasks, not by the clock, but by the position of the sun. That day, it just “seemed” to be time to start dinner, when in fact is was not. Weird. However, even though DH made fun of me for trying to serve dinner in the afternoon, he, too, is guilty of a “by-the-sun” schedule as he tried to put Baby Girl to bed the other night at 6pm. Dinner time isn’t the only time of the affected by the season. It is difficult enough for me to get up in the morning, as I am SO NOT a morning person, but when it is pitch black outside at 7am, hitting the snooze button and letting the kids stay home from school seems like a fabulous idea–every single morning. The end of the day isn’t any better. With the sun setting around 5pm, I am ready to call it a day by 7.
In the advanced, high-tech civilization in which we live, our bodies still fall victim to our primal instincts and natural, seasonal rhythms. While the instinct to bed down for the winter and load up on fatty foods were an intricate part of our ancestors’ survival, it does not fair well our modern society. It is difficult to run five children around town, with various nightly activities, or train for the Princess Half Marathon, when all I want to do is crawl under the covers and go to sleep at 7pm. It is challenging to plan and cook healthy meals, when all we really want to eat around here are carbohydrate comfort foods. It’s hard to find the energy to do anything, yet at the same time, I go crazy being cooped up in the house. Over the years, I have tried various tactics to combat nature’s cruelty without success…and yes, I think it is cruel. It’s bad enough that we have WINTER-a season in which we must dress in bulky and uncomfortable layers and ridiculously run from car to building, building to car to avoid losing a body part to frostbite, but it is made WORSE by the lack of daylight hours. What I have learned, at least for myself, is that I just cannot fight nature,so I wave my white flag. I will just have to give in to my prehistoric nature and eat mashed potatoes by the pound and plan on being in bed by 7pm. So, while the shorter days may not be “hazardous” it sure makes for a long season…but at least you can take comfort in knowing that everyday you one day closer to spring!
Leave a Reply