The best time of the year
"Hello darkness my old friend..."
No, not the holidays.
This will take a little explanation. I am a morning person. I rarely sleep past 5 AM. My usual waking time is between 4 and 4:20 in the morning.
I can’t remember the last time I needed to set an alarm to wake up. Seriously, I am not one of those people that nurse the “Sleep” button to extract an extra 8 minutes of sleep.
And, before you ask, no, I am not at all sad about this.
But, the old Ben Franklin credited quote “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” is the other half of the equation. I usually head to bed about 7 PM1, to read, to do the next day’s crossword, and by 8:00 or 8:30 I am down for the count.
Back to the best time of the year…
From early March until after the end of Daylight Savings Time, I am going to bed with the Sun out. I don’t mind that. But it is reassuring to have it dark when I wake up, and when I retire at the end of the day.
Do not pity me. I don’t need that.
All those who complain the end of DST, all your arguments about having more sun at the end of the day, suck it up.
Naturally, if the prognosticators who want to end the time changes all argue that permanent DST is the way to go, you can all go to hell. Gimme my early darkness.
Why 7:00? That is when the NY Times crossword for the next day drops (10PM Eastern time) and I am a fanatic to do it.
I am also Team Standard Time. You'd enjoy the Pacific Northwest, I think: very short days this time of year, and often good cloud cover to dampen the sunlight. It was a shock my first winter; after that, I was really into it.
Great cover, too.