Your Clock, My Clock by June Hannay Kosier

“I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.” — Golda Meir

When my daughter, Andrea, was small she always woke up about 6AM in the morning. That was great on days her dad and I had to go to work, but on the week-ends, we I liked to sleep in. Andrea learned to tell time at a young age. I had an idea to solve the week-end problem. I turned her clock back an hour and told her she had to stay in bed until 8 AM. She could get up to use the bathroom, but had to go right back to bed. She could watch cartoons in her room while she was still in bed, but she was not allowed to leave her room until 8. This worked great for a while. All I had to do was to remember to turn her clock back on Friday night and adjust it to the correct time on Sunday night.

Then it happened. One Saturday morning, she came into the kitchen thinking it was 8AM. She looked at the kitchen clock which said 9AM. “Wait! Something’s not right here. My clock says 8AM. Is your clock wrong?”

I am not quick about thinking on my feet, but I came up with this brilliant idea. “No, Andrea. It is daylight savings time (it wasn’t) and in the Spring we turn the clocks forward. In the fall, we turn the clocks back. It is meant to help the farmers have more light during the day to get their work done. It also saves energy. We use the saying “Spring forward, fall back” to remember. Since it is springtime, I turned my clock forward and didn’t have a chance to turn yours, since you were still in bed like the good little girl you are.” “I’m not buying it.” She said. I don’t think she suspected me of lying, I think she was just not aware of Daylight Savings Time.

My husband’s comment. “Outfoxed by a little kid. Well, it was nice while it lasted.”