Word Prompt – DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME – Inna Vernikov

On November 2 the yearly ritual begins again: we will turn back our clocks and enjoy the one day of the year where we’re granted the rare gift of more time. To many, this extra hour is insignificant, an archaic ritual from a bygone era. But this year, I find myself reflecting on what it means to have extra time. As we watched joyfully when the hostages were returned from the clutches of terrorists, we can only imagine that time has so much more weight for them now. But what does it take to regain the moments stolen over the last two years of captivity? Daylight saving time is about more than “saving light” – as we move into the winter months and our evenings get darker faster, we’ll begin to work our days around how many hours of sunshine we have left. But how do you react to sudden sunshine after years of darkness? While we adjust our clocks by choice, the families of released hostages are adjusting to a world where time itself stopped and then restarted. Now, every hug, shared meal, and quiet moment is a way to reclaim what was stolen. Perhaps this year we can use daylight savings as an invitation to pay more attention to those we love, and to ensure that we are not overlooking the little ordinary moments that we take for granted. Once we lose time, we cannot restore or regain it. We must cherish the moments we are given. We should all use this “extra hour” that we are granted to reach out and reconnect, in the same way that our hostages’ families are gaining life back, one moment at a time.