Written March 10, 2025
Hello Dear Readers,
Ah yes, it’s that time of year again—the dreaded time change. Most states in the U.S. go through this ritual, allegedly for a good reason, but let’s be honest: it’s mostly just a nuisance. My wife and I were both thoroughly unimpressed to find ourselves waking up to pre-dawn darkness this morning. Nothing says good morning like fumbling around in the dark, wondering why the universe has conspired against you.
As if losing an hour of morning light wasn’t bad enough, my wife had a less-than-pleasant encounter during her morning workout. She spotted a skunk. Yes, a skunk—nature’s own chemical warfare specialist, a creature that thrives under the cover of darkness. Speaking of skunks, we’ve had our own personal skunk horror story. One particularly cold winter evening, a skittish skunk got startled by the sudden roar of our heating system kicking on. In a panic, it unleashed its full arsenal. The wretched stench seeped into the house as warm air circulated, and out of all the rooms, my study bore the brunt of the assault. To this day, I suspect the culprit is the same smug little skunk my wife just spotted.
Now, she lives in fear of another skunk ambush during her workouts. And who could blame her? The absolute last thing anyone wants is to be doused in skunk spray before breakfast. That kind of disaster lingers. Literally.
My wife firmly believes that seasonal wildlife sightings are nature’s own calendar. According to her, as long as she’s still spotting owls and skunks, winter isn’t quite over yet. I can’t argue with that logic—especially since she’s the one out there facing these creatures while I’m still contemplating whether to get out of bed.
But back to the time change. I can’t shake the feeling that this abrupt shift disrupts the natural rhythm of things. Just last week, I was waking up to bright, golden dawns, but now? Darkness, again. It’s a setback. For my wife, the frustration lies in losing that perfect moment at the end of her workout—the serene sight of the sun rising. For me, it’s a simple yet profound demotivator. Whether it’s pitch dark or broad daylight when I wake up, my enthusiasm for running remains highly weather-dependent.
I had grand plans to start running first thing in the morning starting today, but alas, the temperature still has other ideas. It’s just a bit too chilly at dawn to leap enthusiastically into a jog, so that schedule change is officially postponed until further notice. Let’s call it weather permitting.
Besides, I have a bigger goal in mind—I want to avoid running in the unbearable heat of summer. To do that, I’ll need to ease into an earlier schedule as the temperatures allow. Of course, March in Nashville is a wildcard, with temperatures swinging wildly between springtime bliss and winter’s last hurrah. So, my approach is simple: stay flexible, monitor the forecasts, and start my sunrise runs when the weather demands it.
Until then, I’ll just have to deal with the darkness, the cold, and the looming possibility of rogue skunks. Welcome to spring.