Day 217: Blame Daylight Savings... and the war

Who was it that invented this whole Daylight Savings Time thing? My limited memory of obscure history makes me think it has something to do with either a) farmers or b) the war. As I think about it, though, aren't farmers the reason Saskatchewan doesn't change their clocks? So scratch the farmers off that list; that leaves the war. I should've known.

In any case, it's wreaked havoc on my life. And in light of the fact that I now have a baby, I think the world ought to at least consider putting an end to this practice. Because while it's all nice and lovely to have an extra hour of sun (or in our part of the world, rain) at the end of the day, what's not so nice is suddenly having to get up an hour earlier with Maddie in the morning. Not only that, but somehow her naps also have gotten all out of whack and she has turned into a little she-devil. Now this last part probably has nothing to do with Daylight Savings - maybe she's teething, maybe she's tired, maybe Saturn is in her sixth house or she had a tough day at the office. Who really knows for sure? But her miserable mood coincided with the change of the clocks, so I'm going to blame that.

Of course this hits us just after we had finally gotten a schedule down. I had glimpsed the promised land: regular naps, planned outings, scheduled feedings. It was a beautiful, shiny, happy place. But it appears I've been kicked out and am now back in The Land Where No One Knows What the Hell is Going On. I remember when I first had Maddie I was often reassured by well-meaning books and people that I would soon be able to understand what her cries meant. Well, we're at 7 months and counting. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I know when she's serious and when she's not. But I can't really differentiate within those two categories. I suppose I thought I would eventually be able to say, "High pitched - check, piercing - check, head is about to explode - check... she must have pooped her pants!" I guess it's not quite that straightforward. Ah well, she keeps my on my toes, this girl of mine.

If all goes well, we're off to our first ever playdate this afternoon, with a whole lot of people we've never met. Maddie will be wearing her Halloween costume. I will not. Wish us luck! Oh, and happy Halloween!