Daylight Savings: The gift that keeps on giving – at least for a while

By Sara Triplett | The Sunday Column | Special to The Shelby Independent

OPINION / HUMOR – Time is a funny thing. It’s not like actually funny, but it’s one of those things you can wish away, beg to stay, try and pass, try to pause, seems to fly, all while standing by. And every year, without fail, there is a day when the world suddenly feels a little more generous. That day, of course, is the return of Daylight Saving Time, and in my opinion, the most underrated, unofficial, “holiday” of the year.

     Yea, I know it’s not technically a holiday. There are no Hallmark cards that say, “Happy Daylight Saving Time!” (although there should be) and nobody gathers around the clock to count down the minutes, but perhaps we should. Cue the 2 a.m. party, anyone? Because in a world where winter has been holding our sunlight hostage, this is the day someone finally offers that metaphorical plane ticket, and 10 million in unmarked bills, to old man winter.

       Suddenly, after months of late afternoons that feel suspiciously like bedtime, we are granted an entire extra hour of usable daylight life. Not actual time, (as a scientist, I’d like to not lose my street cred) but an illusion and feeling of more time. And as any person with a job, a commute, and a list of chores, longer than I care to think about, perceived time is the real luxury.

What do they say… “ignorance is bliss”? Or is it “mind over matter”? Either way, I kindly accept.

      Winter afternoons have a way of slipping by. Maybe I’m just old and time is moving at hyper speed, but one minute you’re leaving work and the next you’re fighting the sunset on your drive home. 0 out of 5 stars for winter afternoons. My Mawmaw always told me, “Nothing good happens after midnight,” but from October until March it seems almost everything occurs in the dark.

     Then comes this glorious Sunday morning when the clocks magically hear our plea. “Bah humbug!” to those that say we lose an hour; how short sighted of you.  With one swift leap, our wish is granted and evening returns; the adult version of Christmas morning. By 6:30 p.m. the sky is still bright enough to convince even the biggest critic that maybe, just maybe, we can live a little. Maybe I can go for a walk, wash my car, and do that home repair that’s been waiting for months. Just maybe this is an awakening.

      Of course, there will always be critics of Daylight Saving Time. Those are the worst kind of folks. Whining about their lost hour of sleep, their inability to fall asleep in the bright light, their dark drive to work in the morning, the coming of summer, and the apparent bugs and pollen they despise. The hermits of the world must not prolong this hibernation and shall not steal my joy. How can one sleepy morning not be worth it for months of glorious sun filled evenings?!

      Daylight Saving Time doesn’t change the weather, your coworkers, the chore list or the nightly news. What it does change is the ability for one little pocket of time to light the end of our day. Just enough to allow life to sneak back in. It is truly magical…

      In a world full of major holidays that require decorations, obligations, and way too much money spent, this one asks very little of us. Wake up just a little bit earlier and go enjoy the greatest gift of the year.

That feels like something worth celebrating.

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Thank you to Sara Triplett for writing this week's Sunday Column.

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