As a lifelong night owl, I am quite familiar with the dark. We have been friends for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is getting scolded by my mom for being awake and looking at the stars through the window one night. I was about 3, based on the fact that my brother Pete was still sleeping the crib and my youngest brother Tom was not even thought of yet.
(Aside: why is lifelong one word, and night owl not?)
But I hate when the dark shows up early. No one likes a gatecrasher, and tonight, at 8:15pm when I got home from taking my son Brandon out for birthday dinner (we had mexican, it was yummy!), it was dark. And not just dusky-dark, but dark enough that as I was fumbling to get my key into the lock to open the door to the house, I was wishing I had put the outside light on when I had left earlier. At 5pm. When it was still broad daylight out and sunset wasn't even being hinted at. I am going away for the weekend and when I get back, summer will be unmistakeably on the way out as Autumn will be gatecrashing it's way into the month, cloaked in the robes of darkness, encroaching on the evening an inch or two per night.
One of the benefits of living where I do is that I can walk downtown to a variety of places for dinner or shopping, or just to have a stroll. I don't mind walking home in the dark, but as the darkness creeps closer and closer to 6pm, starting out the walk in the dark just makes me feel like I'm late, behind schedule, and at that point why bother. But that part won't be here until sometime in November. The next two months will be that incremental forshadowing of what's to come.
(Aside: why is lifelong one word, and night owl not?)
But I hate when the dark shows up early. No one likes a gatecrasher, and tonight, at 8:15pm when I got home from taking my son Brandon out for birthday dinner (we had mexican, it was yummy!), it was dark. And not just dusky-dark, but dark enough that as I was fumbling to get my key into the lock to open the door to the house, I was wishing I had put the outside light on when I had left earlier. At 5pm. When it was still broad daylight out and sunset wasn't even being hinted at. I am going away for the weekend and when I get back, summer will be unmistakeably on the way out as Autumn will be gatecrashing it's way into the month, cloaked in the robes of darkness, encroaching on the evening an inch or two per night.
One of the benefits of living where I do is that I can walk downtown to a variety of places for dinner or shopping, or just to have a stroll. I don't mind walking home in the dark, but as the darkness creeps closer and closer to 6pm, starting out the walk in the dark just makes me feel like I'm late, behind schedule, and at that point why bother. But that part won't be here until sometime in November. The next two months will be that incremental forshadowing of what's to come.