AIBU to think people forget about when the sun rises and sets

[nicjoo]

“Oh it’s getting dark early”
”I’m waking up and its dark”

The times when the sun rises and sets - the times when this happens remains the same. Today 30 Aug - Sun rises at 6:10 am and sets 8pm. These times are the same as other Aug 30.

I know what time it goes dark as in a previous job where I finished at 8pm, it was starting to get dark Aug 22 my DM’s birthday.

Do people actually forget about this?

All I know is my days of driving to/from work (18 miles) are numbered.

Days are shorter by a quarter of a hour per week.

Well, I’m aware it happens - but, I am no less shocked every year by the feeling of the nights getting darker (and the horror of waking up in the dark and leaving the office in the dark).

And then the feeling of how pleasant it is when it starts to get light again.

It’s just small talk, like the weather.

It's just something people say.

We're not actually shocked or forget, it's just small talk.

People don’t forget.

you are simply describing normal human conversation that happens every year and always has.

Also there is a mismatch between midsummer (June) and middle of summer - heat and summer holidays (August), which makes August a confusing month.

No we don’t forget. As others have said, it’s just stuff people say. I said it to my friend yesterday despite being well aware that it happens every year!

People don’t mean that they’ve literally forgotten - you do know that?

You're taking people way too literally. I think it's pretty normal to notice the changing of the seasons and things that come with it.

On Mumsnet, not only are people surprised by the seasonal changes: they hate them.
”I hate spring!”
”I hate summer!”
”I hate autumn!”
”I hate winter!”

Oh OP 🤦‍♀️ It’s just language! We say “I always forget how dark it gets…”

We haven’t ’forgotten’! We’ve just ‘re-noticed’…but it’s our way of saying this…of bringing it into the conversation!

Surely you know this? Do you not have these types of very normal, human conversations?

Nobody has forgotten but we were all just enjoying lots of daylight and now we've suddenly realised all that horrible darkness is coming.

There's also the break in routines that make it harder to follow the progression of nature. We tend to go away mid-August each year and while I factually know that it's going dark around 8:30pm (and the Pleides showers peak around then) there's a notable jump in sunset times between going away and coming home. Through August, I'm not setting morning alarms to pay much attention to the change in early morning light.

By the time I get to my first alarm in September it's easy to forget that we're only a few weeks from the equinox when the brain has been in summer mode.

This week has felt more of a jump than usual because it's been so long since we had heavy cloud blocking the evening light. Last night I needed lights on in the house about an hour early at 6:30.

I hate the evenings closing in. It's so much easier getting out and about when the evening is in daylight. Bonus points for no car headlights trying to scorch out your retinas.

Days are shorter by a quarter of a hour per week.

I'm assuming you only meant "this week". Otherwise we really are all going to be surprised by night falling before daybreak this time next year.

People aren’t comparing the day with August 30th last year or any other year, they’re comparing it with the days that have recently passed in August, July and June.

Certain days stay in your memory and other people will be the same but have generally different ones to you.

Exactly this. Why do people take things so seriously these days?

I don’t forget.

But the early morning darkness does change quite quickly for me.

Obviously not physically but because of my lifestyle.

DS is a swimmer. Before summer shutdown it’s light when we get up at 4 and leave home at 4.30am.

by the time summer shutdown had ended and we have a few morning sessions to tick over it’s dark when we get up at 5am.

Because we aren’t up early inbetween and we get up later it surprises me “how” dark it is.

But every year after nationals I’ll say “no more being light when we get up now until next June” so I know!

You're taking chit chat too literally. Someone saying "I forgot how dark it gets" just means that it's not much fun getting up and going home in the dark.

Also just fyi, people saying "I can't believe it's September already" understand the months of the year, you don't need to explain it to them.

It’s been a whole year since the sun set this early in the summer, it’s normal to forget what dates things happen when it’s a year apart.

It gives sun rise and set in the paper daily,with the weather forecast, but I don't find it correlates with real life. It was dark early yesterday because it was raining. At bang on 6 this morning, the sun from the east was in our bedroom. I hate the expression "night is closing in",did it subsequently "open up" this morning. I would certainly prefer this to countries where you have months of daylight or darkness.

I think we’ve lost touch with the seasons for sure. I’m not sure anyone I know except for me could say the exact time the sun sets, but that’s because I love sunsets so try to go for a walk at that time when I can. And I’m surprised by the number of people who don’t know what the weather will be doing tomorrow or in a couple of days.
But I think the changing light triggers an instinct in us… we just don’t know what that instinct is because we have artificial light, central heating and supermarkets. Or maybe people are just making conversation about a shared experience, like when we talk about how hot it is during a heatwave, knowing full well it’s a heatwave and the other person is also hot

Nickjoo, talking about Birthdays,I never forget the clock changes, they go forward the week of my oldest DS birthday, and back the week of mine.

This. People haven't forgotten about it.

I don't forget it happens but it still takes me by surprise. Also sometimes its a lot darker than it should be on a morning, because its cloudy so that really does surprise you. I leave for work at 5am, one recent Friday it was still light, beautiful sunrise on the way, then on the following Monday it was really dark, which I did not expect. The next day wasn't cloudy so wasn't as dark, but its definitely high beams on the way to work now which saddens me. And soon enough it'll be dark on the way home too.

I think sometimes it does hit you, especially if you’ve been away. Before I went on holiday, the nights were light until late, I went away and then really felt the change this week. It’s felt quite sudden to see darkness at 8.30. I haven’t forgotten but there are definitely weeks the changes feel more stark.

Are you autistic?