That Extra Hour

It is that time of year again. Seattle just seems dark and gloomy even during the few daylight hours we have. This is the time of year when I fixate on the amount of actual daylight and compare it to home. In the San Francisco Bay Area, 9 hours and 25 minutes separate sunrise and sunset. Here, there is an entire hour less of daylight (8:25). And I use the term "daylight" loosely. There are a lot of days that seem stuck in twilight this time of year. OK, those from the northern part of the country may be used to this. Go ahead, call me a wimp, I'm OK with that. Many people may not mind it, but I DO! I'm from California, and this is hard for me. Even in the summer, the sun is not as bright and strong here. Yes, this climate is better for my skin and appropriate for my British mutt genetics blah blah blah. Just because my genes like it here doesn't mean I have to! So, this time of year I fixate on what I'm missing (yes, I am both wise and mature). I imagine that extra hour of daylight, so bright that my eyes can barely take it. And the sunshine is warm, too. Never mind that today's high is forcasted to be 55º in The Park today and the UV index is only 1. I imagine a warm sunny day. I also imagine that extra hour in Tahoe. It is even brighter there because of the elevation and the snow reflecting the sunlight. Of course it is bright and sunny and warm. What is it really like you ask? It is currently 18º, but feels like 11º, with a forecast high of 34º and "plentiful sunshine". OK, UV index of 1. And there is no snow to reflect the sunlight. Both places are still brighter than Seattle, where the UV index is 0. And there is that extra hour.

I know that the solstice is only a few days away, but that doesn't help. I'm fixated. The extra hour... bright sunshine... that hour... i'm missing it... the hour... a whole hour...