by Lisa Linthicum

Created on: November 02, 2008

I am squinting at the computer screen because I am still half asleep. I hope my words are making sense. If they do, I'm sure many of you will be able to relate to my exhaustion.

My two sons apparently didn't get the memo about Daylight Savings Time coming to an end last night. They woke up before 6 a.m. old time, which means they were ready to go at 5 a.m. this morning! They have already been kicking balls around the house and been giggling like crazy. I, on the other hand, have slurped up a cup of strong coffee in an attempt to wake up and catch up to them.

Since my oldest son was born in 1999, I have fretted each time the calendar says to change the clocks. My husband and I have established pretty strong routines for our kids and it has helped immensely. However, these routines can cause issues sometimes - such as clock changing time. I always worry about when to put them to bed to help them adapt best to the time change. Usually, my extensive worries are for naught as the kids' internal clocks seem to adjust right along with "Springing Forward" or "Falling Back". In years past, the changing of the clocks has gone very smoothly, and my husband chuckles at how much I fret about it.

Last night, I kept the kids up 30 minutes later than usual, figuring that I was "splitting the difference" between the old time and the new time that would greet us this morning. They had stayed up quite late the night before because we watched an old classic mummy movie to celebrate Halloween. So, I thought that letting them stay up the extra half hour would do the trick. Then, I made the very dumb mistake of staying up way past my usual bedtime watching a movie.

So, when my oldest son came sauntering in my bedroom waving his morning greeting at 5:45 a.m. - that meant he was actually up at 4:45 a.m. new time. In a grumpier whisper than I care to admit to, I tried to explain to him about the time change and that he needed to go back to bed. As I finished my lengthy and rambling explanation, I heard my youngest son over the baby monitor calling for me. Wow! These boys need to learn about taking advantage of that extra hour of sleep! That was one of the rare moments that I actually longed for the teenage years - when they will want to sleep until noon.

I am still quite tired and concerned about how I will get through the day. I can actually hear the sweetest sound ever as I type - the sound of my daughter snoring in her bedroom. She must have gotten the memo!

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