One of my favorite days of the year has always been the first Monday after we move our clocks ahead in the Spring. Although Daylight Saving Time actually begins on Sunday, it seems to have a bigger impact on Monday. That may be because on Sunday I’m still dealing with the loss of an hour of sleep, but more likely it’s because weekday routines and timetables are more firmly set than they are on the weekend. On Monday afternoon, it’s much easier to suddenly recognize that it’s much brighter and lighter outside than it was at the same time just a few days earlier. The change is dramatic, and hard to miss.

And yet, this year, I missed it.

I don’t mean that I forgot to turn my clock ahead, or that I didn’t recognize or appreciate the increase in daylight hours. It’s just that my daily routine has changed so drastically that I didn’t have any basis for comparison.

Not that I’m complaining. I’m completely enjoying my new surroundings, especially the weather that’s much warmer in Georgia than it is in Minnesota. But moving 1200 miles away from the place I’ve lived for almost 20 years puts me in foreign territory in a number of ways – ways that are neither good nor bad, just different. It will take me a little while to get used to them, and a little longer until they feel normal. It may even take a year or two before I have enough of a benchmark – or routine – to notice the drastic change that Daylight Saving Time makes when we change our clocks forward or back.

In the meantime, and for a little while longer, I’ll be enjoying the unstructured schedule that comes with a major move and a change in lifestyle. As I explore and discover new interests and activities, I’ll develop new routines and rituals, and my life will again settle into a regular, familiar pattern.  One that guides me in my day-to-day life, and makes me feel comfortable and at home – wherever I am, and at any time of day.

March 17, 2017
©Betty Liedtke, 2017

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