Time doesn't really change...just the clocks

My first clue that the clocks had moved ahead was that my computer time was an hour faster than all my clocks. I walked down to the corner where Babette informed me, yes, I had missed out on the time-change while Jean-Pierre, his arm in a cast, shook his head. Another American stupidity, to be treated with amused tolerance.

It wasn’t the first time I missed the change. Years before at the end of September my then lover Michel bet me an order of profiteroles what the time was. I thought that was an easy win. He counted on my lack of knowledge that French time changes are different from the US (It has since changed). I do wish he hadn’t smacked his lips as he ate his profiteroles.

And then…

Llara had come from the States and I had come from Geneva to Edinburgh in March about four years ago for a quality mother-daughter visit . We stayed with our mutual friend Christiane. While she worked Llara and I took in the sites of the city. She went to the Writers’ Museum for me, I went to the Whiskey Museum for her and we both were thrilled to stand where Mary Queen of Scots once stood.

In the evenings we ate with Christiane, appreciating her newly found cooking skills, or going to restaurants. Our last day, a Sunday, we opted to stay at home, watch movies, Friends, do needlework and talk.

Monday morning Christiane planned to drive us to the airport. She had an errand to run, while Llara and I leisurely showered and packed. A screech of brakes outside was followed by a door slam. “Hurry, hurry, hurry,” Christiane yelled. “The clocks changed.”

The ride to the airport would have qualified Christiane for a Formula 1 slot. I made my plane. Llara did not, and got to spend another day in Scotland and fly home business class as I jealously went back to work.

Although this Sunday I had missed the religious procession with the statues, I did see the Easter carolers. Nothing was lost, but I enjoyed taking out a couple of memories of missed time-changes. They are worthy of a smile, not a worry. After all, the clocks may change, but the number of hours in day do not.