I’m dreaming of daylight savings

You remember how when you were a kid waiting for Christmas, or your birthday, or even beginning of summer vacation, and you had your sights set on it for weeks in advance? And time c-r-a-w-l-e-d the closer you got to the magic date? And you had all sorts of daydreams about just how great it was going to be, so much so that you couldn’t think about anything else by the time it got down to just a few days to go?

That’s how I feel about daylight savings. It’s this weekend! It’s almost here!!

I’m not just excited about the jump to daylight savings time. This is no ordinary anticipation. My fundamental sanity and emotional well-being is irrevocably intertwined to our capacity to “spring forward” this year.

Because I really, really, really need to sleep past five a.m.

Oh benevolent sleep gods, why have you forsaken me? Not that I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time tallying up the injustices committed against me in this regard (I have), but do you realize that every week for the past month, maybe two months, I have lost an entire night’s worth of sleep? You lose one hour a night for seven nights, lookit that – a whole night of precious sleep evaporated into the morning gloaming.

I know, there are those of you out there mocking my 75-pound weakling self for not being able to cope on seven hours of sleep a night. But I can’t do it! I’m a creature of sloth; I was built to nap.

And when I don’t get enough sleep, I am not a productive, cheery contributor to the good of society as a whole. I tend, in fact, toward the shrewish. Why is that, anyway? How come when I’m tired I become cranky and difficult and impatient? Wouldn’t it be nice if tiredness resulted in something more manageable, like say a rash? Or a case of the giggles?

When Tristan was born, the single hardest thing for me to cope with – including the cracked and bleeding nipples, the thrush, the postpartum hormonal hangover – was the sleep deprivation. I remember getting up to nurse him at 5:30 every morning and watching an old episode of Who’s the Boss or WKRP in Cincinnati (I always watched TV when I nursed Tristan – it was the only way I could stay upright and with all our latch problems I couldn’t nurse lying down), and being amazed that the world actually turned at that ungodly hour of the morning, before stumbling back upstairs and sleeping blissfully until 8 am or later. I didn’t know how good I had it, even factoring in the Tony Danza overdose.

Now my boys are awake and ready to go for the day every. single. day at five o’clock. That’s got to be a violation of some charter of human rights somewhere, wouldn’t you think?

So you see, daylight savings is my only hope. I’ve had my calendar circled, with blue and yellow dancing stars and happy moons and trails of Zzzzzzz, for weeks. It’s gonna change everything, right? They’ll sleep in until – dare I hope for it – six o’clock, right? Right??

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

22 thoughts on “I’m dreaming of daylight savings”

  1. I am hoping it works too. Although, no where near as early as you, I am tired of waking before 7, when for over a year we were consistently 7:30-ish, and now since Christmas been more often like 6:30. Sounds like a dream to you, but it’s all relative, right? I just wanna see that clock at #7 before anyone is picking my nose.

  2. I am hoping it works too. Although, no where near as early as you, I am tired of waking before 7, when for over a year we were consistently 7:30-ish, and now since Christmas been more often like 6:30. Sounds like a dream to you, but it’s all relative, right? I just wanna see that clock at #7 before anyone is picking my nose.

  3. Oh Gawd I hope so for your sake! Nathan has been getting up earlier and earlier and FIGHTING to wake up becasue the sun is up! ????? Literly saying Mommy my eyes won’t open and it’s sunny out. (Hear me scream inside but your still tired so sleeppppp!!!!)
    Yeah Daylight Saving Time!
    COME ON OVER!

  4. Oh Gawd I hope so for your sake! Nathan has been getting up earlier and earlier and FIGHTING to wake up becasue the sun is up! ????? Literly saying Mommy my eyes won’t open and it’s sunny out. (Hear me scream inside but your still tired so sleeppppp!!!!)
    Yeah Daylight Saving Time!
    COME ON OVER!

  5. The kidlet used to sleep in until 6:30-7:30 up until a few weeks (month?) ago, where she decided to start waking up around 6 (this after going to bed at the exact same time as before). Now? For the past week or so, she’s been getting up at 5 (and yes, it is a HORRIBLE hour) AND she’s been skipping her nap every other day. WTH?? I need my sleep too! More than 6 hours, please! So for the first time EVER, I am also looking forward to the time change!

  6. The kidlet used to sleep in until 6:30-7:30 up until a few weeks (month?) ago, where she decided to start waking up around 6 (this after going to bed at the exact same time as before). Now? For the past week or so, she’s been getting up at 5 (and yes, it is a HORRIBLE hour) AND she’s been skipping her nap every other day. WTH?? I need my sleep too! More than 6 hours, please! So for the first time EVER, I am also looking forward to the time change!

  7. Don’t you think you may have drawn attention to this glorious day by highlighting it on the calendar ;)?
    In all seriousness though, perhaps it is external factors that you are unaware of waking them. We thought that “J” had an internal clock, but really, it’s our neighbours or the paperguy, whichever attacks earliest.

  8. Don’t you think you may have drawn attention to this glorious day by highlighting it on the calendar ;)?
    In all seriousness though, perhaps it is external factors that you are unaware of waking them. We thought that “J” had an internal clock, but really, it’s our neighbours or the paperguy, whichever attacks earliest.

  9. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in 8 years, you will be wishing that the boys would get up befoer the crack of noon!
    Having a toddler and 2 teenagers, I’m not sure which is worse – the early riser, or the guys who “waste” half the day sleeping (although we have a morning curfew here).

  10. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in 8 years, you will be wishing that the boys would get up befoer the crack of noon!
    Having a toddler and 2 teenagers, I’m not sure which is worse – the early riser, or the guys who “waste” half the day sleeping (although we have a morning curfew here).

  11. 5:00!!!?? Yikes! And I complain about getting up at 6:30. I love daylight savings time myself. And the weather’s finally consistently warm down here. Yippee!!!

  12. 5:00!!!?? Yikes! And I complain about getting up at 6:30. I love daylight savings time myself. And the weather’s finally consistently warm down here. Yippee!!!

  13. I hear ya, Amelia has been waking up at 5 o’clock for the longest time. But I could always get another hour of being horizontal by dragging her into bed with us and nursing her. Now she nurses for 5 minutes and then starts to pry my eyes open and giggle. If that doesn’t work she pinches my nipple.

  14. I hear ya, Amelia has been waking up at 5 o’clock for the longest time. But I could always get another hour of being horizontal by dragging her into bed with us and nursing her. Now she nurses for 5 minutes and then starts to pry my eyes open and giggle. If that doesn’t work she pinches my nipple.

  15. oooohhhhh…i guess my favourite time of year, when we “fall back” and gain an hour wouldn’t be your friend then at all. Springing forward for me means losing an hour of precious, precious quality pillow time.
    but when you put it in kid-awake time terms, I get it….
    hope you get the sleep 🙂

  16. oooohhhhh…i guess my favourite time of year, when we “fall back” and gain an hour wouldn’t be your friend then at all. Springing forward for me means losing an hour of precious, precious quality pillow time.
    but when you put it in kid-awake time terms, I get it….
    hope you get the sleep 🙂

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