My husband reminds me once a month how long it is until Christmas; today was his reminder for February that we have ten months to go. Ugh! That’s my first thought. Then I remember this is a man who loves Christmas: the gifts, the tree, the poinsettias, the food, the religious services.
The thing is Earl is married to someone who isn’t particularly crazy about the holiday. She’d rather focus on birthdays. So for the record, her next birthday looms long before Christmas. So does Earl’s for that matter; and I found him perusing catalogs today with gifts in mind. But not for me; I don’t crave a microwave egg sandwich maker.
What I notice most about today is that the daylight hours are significantly greater than they were a couple months ago. It used to be dark at five o’clock; now we wait until after six o’clock for lurking shadows. It means we’re getting to the point in the year where I trade longer reading time in the evenings in front of a cozy fire for upcoming gardening projects as the heat of the day wanes. It means I’ll be on the lookout for tulip sightings. It means our patio furniture soon will make an encore appearance.
Then Earl comes and reminds me that Daylight Savings Time begins on March 10. I don’t see any sense to changing the clock twice a year, but I do it to keep in step. The thing is that my son Kevin, his partner Lonna, and I leave for Italy that day. So it’s really important that the three of us have our clocks set to the correct time. Otherwise, we could be stranded at O’Hare as the plane we are supposed to be on left an hour ago. Right now, I’m thinking about this more than I’m thinking about Christmas.
Besides, I’ll be back from Italy in time for Earl to make his monthly announcement for March.
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