Abolishing Daylight Savings Time should be on today’s ballot

I hate Daylight Savings Time.  I really don’t care if it’s dark outside when I leave for work and light when I return, or vise versa.  What I do care about is having two happy little boys and DST makes sure that doesn’t happen for at least two weeks out of the year.

Okay, I’ll admit, “fall back” is a bit easier to manage than “spring forward”.  Although we end up getting up at the crack of dawn, it is much easier to put the boys to bed late, unlike in the spring when we try to get them to go to sleep an hour early.  Great, now I’m dreading the spring.

I’m sure someone can give me all kinds of cultural, maybe even scientific reasons for the time change.  Or even advice on how to handle it with the boys a bit better.  I will stand my ground with my statement that I don’t care.  I find this ritual completely unnecessary.  Unless the time change eliminates winter, and in my experience that has never happened, it will never get my vote.

My full plate

When I became a mom in 2009, I frantically searched for support via internet for the full-time working mom.  I was frustrated with the results which led me to extremes and to believe that staying home with my child was the only option for a good mom.  Either a simpler life that glorified stay at home moms or the struggles that working moms face leaving their children therefore glorifying stay at home moms.  Unfortunately, in my delicate state and emotional confusion of having my first child and becoming a parent, I took this a little too seriously and found myself battling post partum depression. 

 

I know, it even sounds extreme to me looking back at it.  Trust me, it happened.  I just felt so unsure of myself anyway and having society trying to convince me that my lifestyle needed an overhaul was not what I needed.  So, here I am.  A (full-time, outside of the home) working mom of two amazing sons, William (3) and Collin (1).  I’m married to a wonderful man, Jason, although, just like every marriage, we have our ups and downs and times of strife.

 

I struggle with my decisions and I’m here to work some of those out.  Not that I live in regret, I’m just realistic.  Most decisions come with some kind of consequence and now that my decisions affect a family, I don’t take them nearly as lightly.  I know that I am not the only one going through this and hope that me working through my experiences triggers others to share theirs.