One person I know got so carried away with changing his clocks that he ran up the bathroom scale 6 ounces.

The immediate consequence of the time change is getting up well before the sun comes up. You see, you have already saved an hour of daylight … well, later on it will be daylight. How did this happen? It all started as a means of working longer hours in the defense industries of WW II. That part of it is old news. Until this morning Daylight Saving Time began on the first Sunday in April and lasted to the last Sunday in October.

On Monday, August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law a broad energy bill (Energy Policy Act of 2005) that extends Daylight Saving Time by four weeks beginning March 11, 2007; that is today.

After Desert Storm, Barbara Walters filed a story on the customs in Kuwait. She noted that wives would follow their husbands by ten feet or so as they walked down the street. On a recent trip to the area she noted they now preceded their husbands by a similar distance. When asked what had brought about the change, she was told, “It is simple, land mines.” Some change is forced on us.

People just don’t like change. Our routine is our comfort zone. It is familiar and safe even if it is less satisfactory than we might like it to be. A family with an alcoholic father can be upset by the turning over of a new leaf and a sober father. The unfamiliar ground seems unsafe and alien.

So, how do we deal with change? The first step is to plan for it, set out a path to change, talk about it, adjust it and move toward it together. Sudden and unexpected change can be devastating.

Be willing to identify alternatives and not go lock step into change that does not make sense because of changed circumstances.

Most of all we must be willing to change. Sounds easy but experts tell us we will not change personal habits to save our lives. You know you need to stop smoking; you need to lose weight. You are sure these habits will shorten your life. Even so you will fight the change until it kills you.

Change is one of the certainties of life. Very few days will go be without some change and it will happen, whether or not we want it to come. We can fight it or join it. The challenge can be fun if we expect it and make the most of it