filed in Daily Life
Fall Back
Late afternoon, the day after turning the clocks back, is the hardest for me. On that initial day, I’m not fully confident as to what time it is, but it’s Sunday, apart from the work week’s usual rhythm, so the stakes aren’t that high. I’m disoriented, but who cares? But then it’s Monday at 4 PM and the sky is already turning black, and even though in L.A., the temperatures are in the 70’s, I get a pit in my stomach, like I used to in New York, when real winter was on its way. The next time we’ll see sunset after 5 pm in Southern California is January 9, 2016. Here comes the dark.
Image from Metropolis by Fritz Lang
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18 comments for “Fall Back”
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I’m one of the few who loves turning the clock back. The relentless sun and this year heat in LA makes me grumpy by September. I love winter in LA – the gorgeous light and sunsets and yes the early darkness. It all makes me happy with cozy evenings cool enough to truly enjoy cooking. I’ve been here long enough to have reset that inner foreboding of pending east coast winters. LA winter reminds me a little of east coast autumn which is my favorite of all.
It’s good to know there’s a “fall back” fan. I like the cooking part, especially hearty stews and casseroles. But it’s tough to get adjusted to less daylight.
I like turning the clocks back too, and prefer the added light in the mornings so I can walk with the dogs in the woods without a headlamp.
Being an introvert I sometimes find the longer days emotionally draining, as it seems with warm weather and long daylight hours one is ‘supposed’ to be out and about, socializing, a lot more. The drawing in, the darkness, is, as Jules says, cozy and conducive to substantial cooking projects (rather than the endless salads of summer).
I hear what you’re saying about socializing in the summer. In L.A., the weather’s almost always good, so it’s kind of a year-round pressure. But this past year of breaking so many heat records, there were many times when I couldn’t bear to turn on the oven. So thumbs up for slow roasting.
I’m another one who loves turning the clocks back, and not just because we get an extra hour of sleep that weekend. I sometimes wonder if I have seasonal affective disorder “in reverse” because I truly dread summer. Of course that’s largely because I live in NYC, where the heat and humidity is disgusting and unrelenting from late May pretty much right through September. As a result, I live indoors during the summer much more than I do in the winter. New York is a place where people walk, don’t drive, everywhere, so doing routine errands in July is hellish as I schlep around the neighborhood dripping with sweat, fighting a migraine, and desperate to get back into the air conditioning. In January, though, all I have to do is slap on an extra layer with some wool gloves and maybe a hat and I’m good to go for hours! I wonder if the bottom line is that we all like best the season in which we feel the least isolated.
I’m with you Karen and having seasonal affective in reverse. This is me as well. So, enjoy our season and your beautiful city.
You must’ve enjoyed the L.A. weather today, Jules. I’m actually wearing my Uggs right now.
Apparently the reverse SAD (happier in winter, depressed by summer) is now a ‘thing’ or so say the experts. But we are in the minority, which is my usual camp, regardless of the issue!
I live in NJ, where summers are similar to NYC, humid and sticky, making you feel frizzy and wilted all the time. Maybe I would like summer better if I lived in a different climate (working on that!)
It’s quite amazing how mild the weather is in L.A. We can comfortably be outside practically every day of the year. I try not to take it for granted.
I grew up in NYC and it is hellish in the summer. Your comment makes 3 for 3 from people who like turning the clocks back. Fascinating. So far, I’m in the minority.
I completely understand why people find the winter cold hard to take, but since I grew up in Lake Placid, what passes for winter in NYC is almost a non-event for me!
I suppose it’s all relative. I’m often amused by residents here who insist their dogs need outerwear when it’s 50 degrees.
I’m definitely in the pro fall back camp. The earlier sunrise makes it so much easier for me to get out of bed in the morning. Summers in Houston are legendary for their length and hellish qualities. A cool front here is defined by the temperature finally staying below 90 during the day and we had some record breaking 94 degree days in October this year. We are definitely tired of summer here, and I’m tired of hiding in the air conditioned spaces. We are finally enjoying 70 to low 80s high temps and I can finally comfortably go for walks and sit on the front porch visiting with neighbors again.
It was 49 degrees in L.A. this morning. And wow, that was refreshing.
Truly fascinating to hear from so many that relish the “dark months”. I know many people look forward to the fall and the holidays (even though I am not one of them) but it sounds like that is not even the reason many of you like it! Wendy, I’m with you, the darkness so early really gets to me. But I love what someone else posted — that the darkness makes it ok to be in solitude, while the warm weather months provides some level of pressure to go out and socialize. I do relish the cold weather for making it ok to curl up on my couch with a movie but it gets old pretty quickly for me.
We’ve had 2 consecutive mornings of temps under 50 degrees, and I’m already ready for summer. Jeez.
Wendy, I think I’m with you. I don’t like turning back the clock. I hate that when I leave for work it’s dark (about 6:15) and when I get home it’s almost dark (5:00). Soon it WILL be dark when I come home too. Since I don’t get out during the work day, it seems the only time I see the sun is on the weekend. Sigh.
I hope you have some good windows where you work. Seeing the daylight makes a big difference for me.