Driving in the dark
I’ve lived here for three years now, and am starting my fourth winter season.
I’m always surprised and then depressed by how early it gets dark here in the middle of winter. It is 4:47 as I write this sentence, and while it’s not entirely dark, it would be more than dark enough for headlights.
I don’t remember how early it gets dark in the Midwest and further east (and all of you will chime in now, I’m sure), but it just seems abnormal to me. If it’s dark, I automatically think it’s late.
When I went to work on Thursday, for Thanksgiving, my short shift was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. It was a weird bookend to many years ago, when I worked days and would go to work in the dark. Usually I leave work in the dark. I didn’t know how to think as I made the trip to work. The traffic pattern is different. I see things in a different way. I don’t like driving in the dark, even on a familiar route.
I can’t wait for the days to start getting longer, almost a month from now. And for now, they will keep getting shorter, and more depressing.
It hasn’t started raining in any major way yet, though it has rained a bit. Rain is our snow in Fresno. I’m not exactly looking forward to it, even though during the spring and summer, I yearn for it. Why? Because that’s when I expect rain, like at home. That’s when I miss the rain, when it’s hot.
When rain becomes part of a gray winter, it’s less appealing. Winter is just gray and depressing and long, and I wish every day for sunshine and spring.
And it’s started getting pretty cold at night, and the house stays cold even when it’s fairly warm outside. This is also how the winter will begin: not heating the house much and putting on layers of clothes. Much in the same way I might have bundled up in Michigan, but for less reason.
Sunrise today (Sunday) 7:14 a.m., sunset 5:15 p.m. Before Dec. 21 arrives, there will be less and less daylight. Instinct tells me I could deal with rain a lot better than snow - at least with rain, there is perhaps the chance of curling up for a nap and listening to it. With snow, there is the realization of probably having to do something with it.
I hate how early it gets dark this time of year. It’s usually fully dark by 5:30, which seems just too damn early, in my opinion. That said, I appreciate the rain and even the snow, though we haven’t seen any of the latter. This past summer was so dry, I really don’t care how much precip we get this winter. We need it, and then some.