I suffer from a bit of seasonal affective disorder, and this year it has been aggravated by working Third Shift. What that means is, I rarely see more than an hour or two of daylight. My slight downturn in mood is made worse by a lack of adjustment to this new schedule; I still haven't figured out a routine way to balance all my commitments, and thus feel pressed for lack of time to accomplish both what needs to get done, and what I need to do for myself. Frustration inevitably follows. It does not make me a good partner, and I feel bad for my wife and daughters, because, even though I understand the source of my moods, I feel a bit helpless to do much about them.
Today is December solstice. I am being geographically correct in saying that rather than "Winter Solstice", because it is also solstice in the southern hemisphere and it is the first day of summer down there. As the earth revolves around the sun, the angle at which the northern hemisphere hangs relative to the sun limits the amount of sunlight, and therefore both warmth and light, to a few hours and an average of just a few degrees above the fressing point of water. In my little neck of the woods, the sun will rise at 7:22 am and set at 4:27 pm, nine hours and five minutes of daylight. Starting tomorrow, that will begin to expand, roughly a minute a day, until the June solstice, when we will have close to fifteen hours of daylight and much warmth.
In the midst of winter, indeed at the very beginning of winter, the seed of spring and summer is planted. My recent feelings of slight depression are countered by the knowledge that this, too, shall pass, and that, even as winter seems to drag on without end, the daylight continues to lengthen, and I will have more and more opportunites to enjoy daylight, and warmth.
I wish all of you who have this discomfort or disorder a happy solstice, then, and offer hopes that you remember that we are entering a time when darkness slowly fades beneath the onslaught of celestial mechanics.
Virtual Tin Cup
