Friday, April 06, 2007

Struggling with Day Light Savings Time

I doubt that the powers that be gave two seconds thought to the by-products of an earlier Day Light Savings Time. In fact, I never thought of consequences. Being the energy conserving maniac that I am, I was excited! Now, I've changed my mind. Every night I struggle to keep a school schedule for bed-time rituals. Yet, the children play longer; we start supper later; we eat later; we go to sleep later. The children wake up later. Starting school before 8:30 (which is our goal) is impossible for children who don't get to sleep until 10 something.

Knowing the struggle of morning, I concentrate more on an early start. Yet, I am affected by the light. I am weak. I want to play longer outside. I want to leisurely prepare dinner. I don't want to sacrifice our reading time.

Since this is Poetry Friday for many of my online friends, I thought I would share a fitting poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. I hope y'all don't mind me playing along.
Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candlelight.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
Honestly, I am so happy my children don't have a school bus to catch.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there a reason you can't just push back your school start time? This year I did something I had never considered before. I took advantage of my kid's natural rhythms to sleep in a bit, and enjoyed the morning time quietly getting done those things I needed to do (as I am an early riser). I found that when properly rested, the kids got the same amount of work done in 3-4 hours that took 5-6 before. It's been wonderful!

Anonymous said...

I love the Stevenson, Wisteria. So true!

Jennifer said...

Is it really weak to be affected by the light, or could you be a benevolent opportunist? Make hay while the sun shines, right?

Angela seems to be onto something, I think. Whose little voice is in your head telling you that "proper" teachers start lessons by 8:30? Perhaps you could engage the kids in an experiment, altering the schedule to reflect the natural inclinations of the family resulting from the time change, and have them note any benefits and pitfalls? I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned :-)

Jennifer said...

PS: Low estrogen moment! I've lost the noun that means "opposite of benefit," but I can taste it!

Wisteria said...

Wouldn't it be so simple just to start school when everyone arises? I would except that I have programmed the whole town, my parents, and my clients to call only after lunch. It has taken years for me to get this window. I have not answered the phone, only to have someone drive to my house to get me. We only have a few weeks of scheduled school remaining. I think I will try to be more flexible.

Is it repercussion? or impediment? or trouble? I love this game.

Both of you are correct!! I'm sure that if we were not finished with scheduled school early enough for them to take advantage of the prime afternoon weather, they would jump when I called.

musemater said...

Hey there, Wisteria, I'm with you on the early daylight savings time. I feel robbed of the joys of spring awakenings by song bird choirs who aren't setting their clocks to rise with my family's forced "savings time". We get out of our beds in the dark chill without robbin, cardinal, jay, or sparrow testimonies or beckoning sunrise to confirm the turning of earth's axis for northern hemisphere spring. By the time the birds have awakened we've gotten too busy with the chores of the day to give them their due notice and don't even hear them or see the sunrise. The sweetness is taken right out and how, oh how, are we to experience spring fever absent these harbringers!

The national news reported in an article just last week that the early change hasn't saved any energy either.

The only "positive" side to this is that Congress and Senate can boast of being in harmony on one issue! Most people are already poverty stricken for nature's healing cycles by our suburban 80 feet by 120 feet lots or worse urban enviornments and now thru symbolic fiat we are asked to give up the Essences of Spring.

This hurts.

No amount of justifications, compensations, adaptations, or positive thinking will replace what we've lost. Sad to say, the world's scheduling does intrude upon even we homeschooling families. Thank you, Wisteria for giving voice to some of my sadness for the loss of rhythms of renewal and the discombobulation of my earth biological lifecycle.

Yeah, I'll say it again, I feel robbed. Happy Easter anyhow, we will survive!

musemater aka matermuse

P. S. My family and I are traveling to NE Mississippi to visit our folks next week, and we haven't made decision whether to move "back home" as yet, would like to but we'll see.