Dark, dark, dark!

I am amazed how dark it gets so early here. When we landed at O'Hare it took us so long to go through all the motions anyway that I didn't really notice when it got dark.

The second day I went to Great Lakes Naval Station to check in for my temporary duty while I do my final admin for leaving the Navy. After doing my business on base, I visited the Navy Exchange at probably 4:30 or so. When I came back out at 5:00, all was dark. I called my father on my cell and asked him who turned out the lights! On Guam it never got dark earlier than 6:00, and that only in the wintertime. I drove to my sister's home through the darkest night - so many cars on the road, so many cars, period! All of them dirty and covered with salt.

My kids are constantly amazed at the darkness too. When we lived on Guam we did dinner around 6:00 and had them in bed during the 7:00 hour. They almost never were out after dark. In fact, that was a special treat when they were out after dark because they could see the moon and the stars very clearly. Now it's dark even when we just go to my sister's house for dinner. They don't get how early it really is.

We're still adjusting to the major time zone shift after arriving on the mainland two days ago. My oldest slept all night last night and was the only one of the family to do so. My wife and I were wide awake at 1 AM (that's 5 PM on Guam). Both the boy and girl twin woke up during that hour, and we were fine with that because we couldn't fall asleep anyway. The girl walked into our room looking for mommy just a few minutes after she convinced the boy to go to sleep, bribing him with a cup of water (his favorite nighttime treat).

I can see how seasonal affective disorder can affect people!