Greetings, my fellow port swillers!

The lovely and talented Diane posts today on the effects of the recent spring forward.  (I can never remember which is Standard Time and which is Daylight Savings Time and, frankly, don’t give much of a damn.)

Curiously, the chronological shift seems to have had little effect on me personally, at least in terms of bodily cycles.  I know that in past years I have staggered out of bed on that first Monday, broadly cursing the fact that it’s really just still Four Ack Emma.  This year?  I simply shrugged.

One effect:  Over the past couple weeks, the Middle Gel and I have crossed over the Potomac River on the way to school just at sunrise or a little bit after, and have been treated to some lovely, lovely views of sky and water.  (My policy is to always point these things out in order to instill in the gel a proper sense of perspective.  I think it’s working.)  Now we’re back to pre-dawn gloom, especially as every morning this week has been overcast.

Another, better, effect:  Returning to Port Swiller Manor in the quiet evenfall while it’s still light out.  Apart from the psychological boost, there is the very practical benefit that I am no longer trying to retrieve the mail in the dusk, inches away from some fairly heavy oncoming traffic.

Of course, all this (well, at least the morning thing) is only temporary, as the days continue to get longer.  This was born in on me again this evening as I watched the Youngest Gel at softball practice.  It was a chilly, wind-swept scene and all the players (except my lunatic daughter, of course, who sported only a t-shirt and shorts) were tightly bundled up.  But long experience reminded me that in only a matter of weeks, on this very same practice field,  these same gels will be griping about the heat, humidity and bugs.

Summer is a-cummin, indeed.