Most people you talk to are grateful to be leaving work in the light of day since we changed the clocks and bought that extra hour of daylight. I normally feel the same way, but it’s been taking a while for me to get used to these longer days. Up until just recently it was dark outside by the time we ate dinner. I can handle eating in the light (really, I can eat under any circumstances) and I do like walking from the office to the garage without feeling like there should be foreboding music playing in the background, but for some reason the switch to Daylight Savings Time isn’t saving me much. Instead, it’s costing me sleep. 

Ever since we sprung forward I’ve been falling behind. My internal clock got the memo about losing an hour’s sleep but it hasn’t quite reconciled itself to the change yet. Last weekend I did something I never do, though Spouse is highly proficient at it. I napped in the middle of the day. The intention was to rest for just a few minutes … under a blanket on the sofa. Warning: Do not try this with the softest, warmest blanket you have. I propped myself up in the corner and closed my eyes. Next thing I knew, I had missed the whole episode of Property Brothers, which was a bummer because I was very curious as to how a family with three kids under the age of three was able to afford a $750,000 renovation. The point is that I lost an hour. Wait — does that mean I lost another hour? Somehow it feels like that.

It seems that one and four in the morning are popular times for me to lay in bed and not sleep. I’m not usually awake for long and I try not to move around too much. I don’t want to disturb a sleeping Spouse … unless he’s snoring, then I have every intention of disturbing him.

I did get up and read the last 10 pages of a book Sunday morning before dawn, then slipped back into bed hoping the disappointing ending would lull me back to sleep before the alarm sounded in a couple of hours. Instead, I rewrote the ending in my head in an hour. Thus, the need for a mid-afternoon nap.

Some people are grumpy the next day when they can’t get a night of uninterrupted rest. I may be one of those people, but hey, I have very legitimate reasons. First, when I’m tired I will find myself glancing at my reflection in the rearview mirror and not be able to tell if I put makeup on. How depressing is that?

Second, when I haven’t slept well I hit the snooze too many times, resulting in a shorter time to get ready in the morning. On those days, at least one of the cats doesn’t keep their breakfast down, the coffeepot has shorted me, and traffic has doubled on the way to work. I swear I’m not imagining this. Not completely, anyway. 

Third, my contact lenses have caught on to all of this and will stick to everything but my eyes, while I lean over the bathroom sink trying to align these little pieces of curved plastic with each angry eyeball. I can’t blame them for not cooperating as I pry my bleary eyes open and try to keep my lids from knocking a contact onto the counter or sink.

I’m guessing I’ll catch up to Daylight Saving Time eventually and there will be no more napping in the middle of the day or re-drawing my face. I mean, reapplying my makeup. For all those times that I’ve claimed to be a morning person, at the moment I’d be happy to jump right into my morning routine … if it just came along a couple of hours later.