My mother had a digital clock with a large display. She liked the clock because it was easy to read even when her eyesight was a bit fuzzy. It was touted as a clock that didn’t need to bet set. The clock has a way of synchronizing with a signal from satellites to always display the correct time. Actually, there are some manual settings that are required in order for the clock to work. First of all, it only works in the four time zones of the lower 48 states of the United States. The user has to select one of those four time zones by moving a switch on the back of the clock. There are only four choices. I guess the manufacturer didn’t feel a need to sell that particular clock in Alaska or Hawaii. Secondly, there is a switch on the back of the clock that has to be moved into our out of daylight savings time as required. I think that the clock is older than the current dates for the changing of clocks, but as it is set up it doesn’t matter when the clocks change as long as the user is aware of the change and remembers to move the switch on the back of the clock.

Since my mother lived in our home at the end of her life and none of my siblings wanted that clock, it is still in our possession. However, it isn’t one of the clocks that we keep on display in our house. It is sitting on a bookshelf where it is mostly ignored. I am thinking of that clock simply because today is the day to change our clocks and I tried unsuccessfully to set that clock before going to bed. I’ll figure out the clock sometime when I have a few minutes to look at it.

The reality is that we run very little risk of forgetting daylight savings time. Our watches, cell phones and computers set themselves without any input from us. There are two clocks in the kitchen, one on the microwave oven and the other on the kitchen range that need to be manually set. And our cars are old enough that their clocks also have to be set. Setting the clocks in our cars, however is a very easy task with clearly labeled controls. The car and pickup that we owned before we bought the ones we now have both required me to get the owner’s manual out of the glove compartment to remember how to set the clocks. There were some years when I didn’t get those clocks set for a week or more after the time zone change.

The clock I refer to the most, however, is an antique clock that is prominently displayed on the bookshelves in our front room. It has been in the family since Susan’s great grandfather brought it home from an auction sale on his horse. It has to be wound every evening. If we forget, it will wake us at midnight by failing to chime the correct number. When it is set and running, it doesn’t wake me when it chimes midnight. We adjust to all kinds of sounds in our lives. When we lived in Idaho, the Amtrak train tracks ran right behind our backyard fence. If the train was on time, we could easily sleep through the sound of its passing. If it was late, I woke when it came.

The antique clock has to be set several times per week. It has an adjustment, but I’ve never been able to get it to run consistently to complete accuracy. As it has been running for several months now, it loses about a minute every two or three days. I check it when I wind it against my watch, which is Internet-connected and accurate. When needed I move the hand a minute forward. The clock can be moved forward. The mechanism will not tolerate moving the hands backward. So in the spring, when we change to daylight savings time, all I have to do is move the hands carefully forward one hour. In the fall, the easiest way to set the clock is to stop the pendulum and have it sit for an hour or more without running. Then it can be set to the correct time.

It is a skill that i don’t expect any of my grandchildren to acquire. Unless, that is, one of them becomes the steward of the clock after us. Right now, at least, it doesn’t seem like either of our children have any interest in antique clocks. Since we have two that we inherited from grandparents, they could each have one. However, the clocks remain in our house for now.

Our daughter has a wall clock in her home, but our son and daughter in law rely on their phones to know the time. They don’t have any wall clocks. I think their kitchen range has a clock, but I’m pretty sure that setting it isn’t priority in that busy family. They live modern lives with modern devices and don’t worry about the art of setting clocks. Their devices do a good job of telling them what time it is.

I am a morning person. I like to rise early. As a result, I’m not a big fan of daylight savings time because it means it will be dark when I rise. I’d prefer for it to get dark in the evening. I like to sit outside in the evening and look at the stars on clear nights. I don’t mind it getting dark in the evening. I’m usually tired by then and don’t want to continue many activities. I still have evening meetings from time to time and I don’t enjoy driving home in the dark as much as I once did, but I still prefer morning light. The days here get pretty long in the summer and pretty short in the winter, making the natural light a pretty good indication of the season.

However, we’ve got our clocks set. There is no point in arriving at church late. I hope you remembered to get your clocks set as well. See you in church!