Spring Ahead

 

This is the weekend when we turn the clocks an hour ahead for Daylight Saving Time.  Unlike some people, the change of one hour forward or back has never really bothered me or my internal clock.  However, changing all the clocks is a bothersome chore.  (Last fall I never got around to changing the clock in my car, so now it finally shows the correct time.)

Mexico did not observe Daylight Saving Time, which they call "summer hour", until 1996.  They decided to follow suit with their northern neighbor because of the country's strong economic ties with the United States.  They changed the clocks, as the U.S. did prior to 2007, the first weekend of April and the last weekend of October.  The country did not alter that schedule when the U.S. decided to extend Daylight Saving Time. (The state of Baja California and some municipalities along the border did follow the new schedule in order to be in synch with the United States.)  That meant that for a few weeks in March / April and in October / November there would be a two-hour time difference between Ohio and Mexico City instead of one.  

Last year President López Obrador proposed a bill to eliminate Daylight Saving Time altogether, and the bill was passed by the Mexican Congress.  (Baja California and border municipalities are still allowed to follow the time changes of their neighbor.)  This means that for SIX months of the year, there will be a two-hour time difference between the U.S. and most of Mexico.

I certainly cannot fault Mexico for doing away with Daylight Saving Time.  However, it will make life a little more inconvenient for me during the time that I am still living in Ohio.  Every evening Alejandro and I talk on Skype.  He usually calls between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. Mexican time... between 8:00 and 9:00 here.  Now, unless he changes his routine (and that may not be possible) it could be nearly 10:00 P.M. (Ohio time) before he calls.  I usually start getting ready for bed around 10, and I often turn off the light by 10:30.  I guess I am going to have to keep later hours now.