Summer Solstice

Welcome to the longest day of the year....tomorrow on the 21st. Thank you God! I remember a time when I used to look forward to those long hazy days with extended daylight hours. Sitting out at 9:20 pm watching the sunset with a cup of steaming tea. Mosquitos munching all the while, getting their fill of me. Now I am just constantly looking for new ways to explain to my kids why it's bed time even though it's light outside. I am running out of explanations. It seems that a two year old is just not willing to accept that though it is light outside, it is bedtime. Each night while explaining about the legnthening of the days she just laughs and says "that's silly.... it's not bedtime!" How does one explain to an individual who is so short of years and experiences and is still passing through her years of infantile amnesia that the legnthening of days is a normal occurance at this time of the year. What, after all, is a year? She describes things which have happend earlier in the day, week and month as "last night". Her favoured description of the passing of time.
My dog on the other hand is acutely aware of time. He know that Saturday is "pancake day" and greets me at the stove bright and early as soon as I arise. Running back and forth from bowl to stove excitedly when I enter the kitchen. He knows bed time snack time and each and every walk time down to the very second it habitually takes place. He knows the very important hour when he must greet the school bus each week day so that he can perform his very important task of peeing on the tire. He knows the time of the year when he has to go to the vet for shots and a check up. No matter how hard I try, he always figures out that the car ride isn't a normal pleasure trip, but is one that will end in prodding and a needle or two. I only have to show my dog something twice before it becomes part of his routine. Whether it's something he likes or not.
I am convinced that deep down my kids internal clocks also alert them to the passing of time. They just choose to turn away from the cues and fight bedtime, looking for any loophole that they can find.
Enjoy the longest day of the year....June 21st and parents be glad. The days of having to explain why it's bedtime are quickly winding down.