Dark, Dark, Dark

In Boston, the first two weeks of December claim the dubious distinction of having the earliest sunsets of the year. Consulting the world clock at timeanddate.com, I read that on December 3rd, sunset in Boston occurred at 4:12 p.m... and it has been stuck there ever since.

I realize that not everyone minds that the afternoons are so short. I'm sure that anyone who is a fan of Christmas lights probably loves these long December nights and the many houses tricked out in their colorful displays. I'm sure that skiers, skaters, and hockey players don't mind the short days as long as they bring the cold temperatures and snow. Even those whose sports take them indoors to shoot hoops or run around cramped tracks in arid field houses seem to enjoy the long nights. Basketball games contested in the stifling heat of a raucous gym wouldn't seem right without the frosty evening outside turning your breath into white steam and freezing your damp hair as you emerge from the warmth of the school and walk to your car.

High school kids, especially, have no fear of early sunsets, nor any sense of awe at the soul-sapping enormity of winter. Weekdays are merely for school, and weekends are mostly for sleeping, if they had their way. Nights are everything else; all the fun and interesting stuff happens when the sun goes down...

But I'm not a high school kid and that's not how it feels to me.

To me, it is a daily burden that the day ends at 4:12 p.m. Monday through Friday afternoons I'm usually thinking about an evening run and trying not to think too longingly about dinner and the warmth of my kitchen. On weekend afternoons, I've done my run but I'm already wondering where the rest of the day went and why didn't I get more done?

But I take solace from the fact that today, December 14th, marks the subtle end of the sun's slide into earlier and earlier retirement. Sunset in Boston today will be at 4:12. Sunset in Boston tomorrow will be at 4:13. Even though there is a week to go before the solstice and the shortest day of the year, with an extra minute or so of daylight in the afternoon, we have turned one kind of corner.

It's like reaching the turnaround point on an out-and-back course. You know that the hardest part is still ahead, but now every step is bringing you closer to your goal.

Sometimes I think that perhaps it would be better not to pay so much attention to the calendar. This pining for longer days might be detracting from my ability to enjoy these shorter days to the fullest. And even running at this time of year does have its pleasures. For one, running in the dark creates the illusion of speed -- I feel much faster now running alone on Comm Ave in the early evening. For another, meeting friends in the winter for long Sunday runs is the highlight of my social life. Meeting on Thursday nights at the indoor track is a close second. (Yes, that's what my social life is like...)

Well, it hardly matters what I think about it, the earth's axis will keep swaying back and forth -- now toward the sun, now away from it. But I'll mark today as a special one because the calendar reminds me to endure and be patient. We've made it this far, and in no time, we'll start noticing the sun staying up a little longer as we leave work or school. The coldest days are ahead, but not the darkest ones.