I love November, but the time change and weather have me confused | Suzy Fleming Leonard
Can anyone tell me what day it is?
Is it time for lunch? Breakfast? I'm so confused.
It's that time of year when Halloween candy sits on the counter and Christmas commercials air on television. Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving menu remains in limbo.
It's dark outside, so I cook dinner. We eat. We clean the kitchen, then realize we've still got 45 minutes until "Jeopardy!" comes on. The change from Daylight Saving to Standard time surely is the reason restaurants invented early bird specials.
What are we supposed to do for the next three hours? If we go to bed now we'll wake up at 3 a.m. You know that saying about nothing good happening after midnight? Not much good happens before 6 a.m., either.
And the dogs. The poor dogs. They don’t understand why we're starving them and delaying bathroom privileges. I haven't figured out how to set their internal clocks back an hour.
Oh, and the clocks, the clocks. Our smartphones were smart enough to change themselves. My dear husband is diligent. First thing Sunday morning, he reset the time on the microwave and the oven. Don't ask me how. He's a crafty wizard. He even pulled out the stepladder to correct the time on the decorative clocks I have scattered around the house. I love them 363 days out of the year.
He didn't make it out to my car, though. Which led to a major adrenalin surge when I left a 1:30 interview headed back to my office for a 3:30 meeting only to see 4 p.m. on the display. (Psych!)
Any rocket scientists out there available to set the clock on a 10-year-old Mini Cooper?
Plus, I have no idea what to wear.
I donned long sleeves for this morning's dog walk and jeans for lunch. By 2 o'clock, I was back in shorts and contemplating cooling off in the pool.
I swapped my spring/summer closet for my fall/winter closet, but find myself raiding the spring/summer closet for anything in fall-ish colors that's lightweight and short-sleeved.
Olive-green shorts have become my new fall staple, and the Dalmatian-spotted coatigan I bought in August mocks me from its hanger. Eventually I'll be able to wear it.
I'm not complaining. Really. I love November in Florida. Abundant sunshine. Ocean breezes. Al fresco dining. The only Florida month that's better than November is March.
So why must both come with time changes? Have time changes always been this hard?
Oh, well. Such is life. At least I'm not shoveling snow.
Now, I think I need a nap. Or maybe I'm hungry. Is it time for dinner or time for bed?
Can anyone tell me what day it is?
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at [email protected]. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Why is it so difficult to navigate the semi-annual time change?
