The SAD Season

It’s that time again:

The Autumnal Equinox, the gateway to the coming winter.

As I’ve done in the past, I set this post to publish on the moment of the Equinox:

• September 23 @ 00:06 GMT
• September 22 @ 20:06 EDT (8:06 PM Eastern)
• September 22 @ 19:06 CDT (7:06 PM Central)
• September 22 @ 18:06 MDT (6:06 PM Mountain)
• September 22 @ 17:06 PDT (5:06 PM Western)
• September 22 @ 14:04 HDT (2:06 PM Hawaii)

Those of you in other time zones will have to do the math (but if you’re reading this, it already passed you).

As much as fall is my favorite season, the Autumnal Equinox is bittersweet to me, not really because of winter (I’ve lived here most of my life and know how to deal with it), but because of the damn darkness.

While I don’t seem to have SAD to the extent that some do, I’m certainly affected by it. It was worse when I was working: waking up and driving to work in the dark and then driving home in dark really sucked. At least I can dodge that now.

Today there is 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. By the Winter Solstice, the light will be down to a piddling 8 hours. With a corresponding 16 hours of darkness (and cold).

And while the time-change is shifting at its fastest rate now, it’ll be at its slowest rate over the Solstice. [See Solar Derivative for details.]

So, my least favorite Solar Event during my favorite season. Almost seems a tiny reflection of life in general. There’s always a fly doing the backstroke in the ointment.

My saving grace is that these last few years I’m usually dog-sitting my funny furry pal Bentley when the Autumnal Equinox happens.

We keep each other amused.

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Stay seasonally unaffected, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.

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