We've reached the time of the year when the length of sunlight is changing by 3 or 4 minutes per day. This morning's sunrise came at 7:30 PDT, and Saturday morning's will come at 7:33. We then will receive a momentary respite in the form of the end of Daylight Savings Time, which will offer us an additional hour of morning light... for a few days... with a commensurate loss of afternoon light. But like light, hope is fleeting during this time of year. By the end of December sunrise will not occur until 7:38, despite being off of Daylight Savings Time.
What's the big deal? We have electricity.
My body knows. I feel the changing sunlight in my obsessive desire for carbohydrates. I feel it in my sluggishness, and desire to roll over and pull the covers over my head. Mostly I feel it in my fading, flagging spirits. My brain knows that the light will return, but it's a hard sell to my body.
Strange and wonderful creatures, we are. Of course, we aren't alone in this. The trees, the bees, the birds, and even Mr. Cat sense that it's time to slow down, hunker down, cling to what warmth we can find, and await the return of the light.
Boy have I had a hard time getting out of bed this week. Its overcast and drizzly, and the only thing I want is to stay home, sleep another few hours, maybe make some pancakes, sausage and hashbrowns for breakfast/lunch. I feel like the sluggishness is a headache I have to constantly fight.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am a little delighted to remember that I won't be in the northern hemisphere for a few weeks during the darkest part of the year. We will return just before the Solstice, as the daylight starts trickling back. It makes me think about all of the circadian proteins I study and how mine are probably a bit messed up since I stay up too late.
I know the idiom 'Mornings are wiser than evenings', but as my sluggish headache will attest, (or perhaps some skewed self-perception) I'm not sure that's always the case.