photocredit: target.com
BY: RACHEL SMITH
It’s hard to believe the time is, once again, upon us to turn our clocks forward. Saturday night, before you settle into your warm bed for the night, you’ll need to set your clock ahead for one hour; a symbol of one of the greatest times of the year.
Spring.
Yes, it’s hard to believe with mounds and mounds of that powdery white stuff still covering the green grass below, but Spring is on the horizon. Well, sort of!
George Hudson proposed the first Daylight Savings Time in 1895. Initially, it was meant to extend the evening daylight hours to allow farmers and other workers to maximize the amount of labor which could be completed each day.
Not everyone was a big fan of the proposition and even today, not everyone participates in Daylight Savings Time. Heck… not even everyone in the United States does!
I have an author friend who lives in Arizona. In her entire life, she has never had to change her clocks to ‘Spring Ahead’ or ‘Fall Back.” To her, it’s an entirely foreign concept that she simply cannot wrap her head around. The first year we were friends I’ll never forget the message she sent me saying, “What do you mean you just CHANGE the clock? You can’t CHANGE time! It’s TIME!!!”
Some people will argue it’s a great thing for our country. It saves energy and promotes outdoor activity in the summer. Who doesn’t love to take a family walk after supper once the weather warms up? We wouldn’t be able to do that if it still became dark at 5pm.
Naysayers of the time change argue that it disrupts morning activities, and that the act of changing clocks twice a year is economically and socially disruptive.
Since I write the blog here, you get to read my opinion on the matter.
Lucky you, huh?
I think setting the clocks ahead is the one of the BEST DAYS EVER. It means Spring is coming. It means we’ve survived another long winter in North Iowa and, let’s face it, they can be brutal.
I means the days become longer, and soon warmer temperatures will follow. The snow will melt, the grass will begin to green, and trees will sprout buds. The lazy days at City or State Beach aren’t far behind, and baseball will soon be in full swing at the fields.
Grilling. Bonfires with friends. Backyard soccer matches. Bike rides. Afternoons at the park. Late nights on the patio, surrounded by the sound of waves against the shore and the dim glow of tiki torches.
Spring ahead means hope of new life. Of a new season of activities, events, concerts and more at the Lake.
Think of that Saturday night as you set your clock ahead. Trust me, it’ll make losing that hour of sleep much easier.