I love Daylight Savings.
Like…love love love it. I know that’s an unpopular opinion, and I don’t care in the least. I fucking love this time of year because it is everything in enjoy most in life. Dark evenings, dimly lit restaurants, cooler weather…it’s just the classiest time of year. It’s the time of year when listening to Sinatra while cooking slow, easy dinners and enjoying a dry glass of red is almost a must.
The early sunsets. The darkness. The twinkle of the lights from my 25 Christmas trees. The scents. The ambiance. The elegance. Sure, summer has its place in the world, but nothing about wearing next to nothing while sweating profusely being blinded by the sun until midnight is sophisticated or elegant. Fun, sure. But it’s not…it. Summer is loud and bright and hot. November? November has manners. The sun goes down and the house gets quiet. The lamps come on. And suddenly everything is elegant and sophisticated.
The darkness is the point
I don’t want the overhead lights. I don’t want the sun shining while I’m enjoying a beautiful meal. I want the candles lit, I want the sun setting, and I want the softness of the season. I want the lamps. The soft glow. The candles burning on the counter. I want home to look like someone thoughtfully designed the lighting instead of like we’re performing surgery in the family room.
Dim lighting = superior. There’s no debate.
The Christmas lights
This is where the season begins showing off. Houses glow. Twinkling lights make everything feel somewhere softer and more beautiful. I love it. The decorating. The anticipation. The closeness I feel with my family this time of year. The beauty only this season offers.
The music
There is something about an early sunset that makes me want to turn on the Sinatra and just enjoy the beauty of the evening. The Christmas instrumentals that make everything feel more beautiful. You can’t listen to instrumentals in the middle of July in the swimsuit by the pool. The experience is not the same. It requires darkness. A lamp. A candle. A good glass of wine.
Suddenly dinners feel more intimate and less rushed. The world feels slower and more intentional. The ambiance shifts and the mood changes, and I’m just a happier person. I was born for this.
This is my kind of reset
I think that’s why I love this season so much. It naturally makes me want to slow down even though my calendar laughs at that. The days feel shorter, but the evenings feel longer. Instead of seeing that as something I’m losing, I see it as something I’m gaining. More time at home. More time with the people I adore. More quality time. More cozy evenings and dinners around the table. Cozy blankets and warm conversation. And I appreciate this season for giving me that.
The little things seem so much better
This is the time of year when the little things seems so much more special. That first cup of coffee in the morning in a beautiful Christmas mug is somehow warmer and more elegant. A clean kitchen is somehow more beautiful. A cozy sweater is a gift. Soft music playing in the background while the fireplace emits a soft glow somehow makes the monotony of deciding what to feed my family of six for dinner – every night forever – more fun.
Nothing about this season is complicated. It’s just good.
I’m not resetting my life
I’m resetting the atmosphere. I’m making my evenings more intentional and actually enjoying them for a few months. I’m embracing the slowness of the season and the small window between fall sports ending and winter sports beginning. I’m turning on the lamps and side-eyeing anyone who tries to use a big light. I’m enjoying the twinkling lights and the soft music and the candles lit.
And I am fully embracing the fact that it’s dark so early. Finally. Because it’s beautiful. I have nowhere to be. And I love it. Honestly, I don’t know why we have to change the clocks back in the spring. I feel like this time of year is for the people who simply love their lives and don’t need the distractions and the constant go-go-go to distract them from their unhappiness. I want to keep this time of year forever.
