Some people think Hallowe’en is the most frightening time of the year.
There are creepy costumes. Children are running rampant in the neighbourhood demanding candy and they want the good stuff.
Animals start acting in odd ways... howling, barking, screeching while staring off into space with their eyes all green and round and shining.
Even the weather around All Hallows Eve seems clammy, windy and damp.
All of that is scary.
However, nothing is quite as scary as Sunday, Nov. 3.
That is when Daylight Saving Time ends.
It is when we, in Ontario, go to something called Standard Time. Some refer to it as winter time. Even the name conjures nightmares.
According to Google...
“Daylight Saving Time started as an energy conservation trick during World War 1. The idea was that in the summer months, we shift the number of daylight hours we get into the evening. So, we’d presumably spend less time with the lights on at night, saving electricity.”
It was also said to have given an assist to farmers, who had more daylight to get the planting done.
Every single year, this is when I start to panic.
I try to remember what I learned in school.
Spring forward and fall back.
Fall back to what, exactly?
Is this when it is darker in the morning and lighter at night or is this when it just seems dark all the time? You go to work in the dark and get home in the dark?
Every single year, I literally draw a picture in the air with my fingers.
“So, here’s the clock (make a circle in air) and going back (point backwards with one finger — not that one!) would mean if its 8 p.m. now, it will go backwards to 7 p.m.”
Then I question myself again.
“I can do this Saturday night before bed, though, so it is done, right? So, if it's 7 p.m. I will actually be going to bed at 6 p.m.? That seems a little early, but, oh well. If I must, I must.”
It is then I realize I have a clock obsession. There are no less than 21 on the main floor.
Can you imagine the angst of trying to change all of those?
It won’t even be Saturday night by the time I am done. So, what time will it be if I wait until Sunday (and here we go again)?
Then Sunday morning comes and I have to revisit all the clocks to see if they all read the same time.
I kiss the computer screen, tablet and cellphone that somehow figured out the time change and did it automatically and all did it without fingers. It frightens me that my gadgets are smarter than I am, but I’ll get over it.
I spend Sunday thinking to myself: “So, I am waking up at 9 a.m., so that would have been 10 a.m. if it were still yesterday, so I got an extra hour. Why do I still feel like a zombie?”
Researchers say even that one-hour change hits us like jet lag. A lot of people will tell you they feel a bit off or achy with a headache for about a week after the change.
I think the headache is likely from trying to figure all of this out.
Don’t forget this is the perfect time to change all the batteries around the house in your smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide detectors. That’s the easy part!
So, don’t forget all of this happens Sunday, Nov. 3.
It will mean the telemarketing calls will start even earlier. I don’t think they pay attention to time zones at all. Ever.
Take heart, friends.
If you can’t figure out your car clock and the drawing of pictures with fingers in the air doesn't assist you, just relax. The time will be correct again in six months.
Plus the flashing numbers on the microwave serve as a helpful night light.
