Spring Forward or else…

Did you remember to set your clocks forward last night?

Usually I am reminded of this fact throughout the prior week. So why was this never brought up to me this year? Nothing from the radio, on the internet, from the friends network… Now, normally, missing the first hour of church wouldn’t be catastrophic. We’d miss Sunday School or Du wouldn’t be able to direct cars around the parking lot. But this Sunday we agreed to fill in for a friend to teach the Kindergarten class. We kind of needed to be there on time.

Fortunately, we made it. We owe it all to my mother. Mom, who was up way late, emailed me as soon as she got home last night to tell me about her night. She reminded me as well to set our clocks forward. Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to do the mom thing! I did have to finish my sewing project an hour earlier than I thought I would, because it was now an hour later than I thought it was. But I could just imagine the scene that would have transpired at the church on Sunday morning had I not checked my email…and I’m not going to go there (it involves something of the likes of the scenes in Daddy Daycare).

I do recall another spring when we forgot (were not reminded by anyone responsible) to set our clocks forward. We were living in Germany and my cousin happened to be visiting us. This was Easter weekend as well and so we were going to do the good thing and go to church on Easter. We hadn’t been attending church regularly yet, so this was going to be our coming out party so to speak. We were going to attend church, sign up, become members, and figure out where we fit in.

So, all three of us wake up, get ready, eat breakfast and head to church. None of us are the wiser about how late it really is. We walk in and hear singing. Wow, I thought, they really are fastidious about starting on time here. Note to self: cannot be late. We find a seat in the back before the singing ends. After the singing the preacher pronounces the doxology and releases everyone over to the fellowship hall. Wow, so that’s how it’s done here. A little different, but we all like a shorter service right? I find a friend and mention how short I thought the service was. “Oh, yeah” she said, “we didn’t have the little children’s church part where the pastor brings the kids up and talks to them.” “But five minutes?!?!” I say. “Vicki, it’s 9 o’clock. We’ve been here for an hour.” While I’m sinking to the floor (not in embarrassment, I’m laughing too hard) it dawns on me that this was the weekend all the clocks sprung forward in Europe.

The moral of the story is: you still need reminders from your mom even when you’re in your 30s.

Happy almost Spring, y’all! Quit whining about losing the hour of sleep and enjoy the longer daylight!