The Inside Veer - Early nights make December feel like borrowed time

I’m not used to it getting dark so early. Twice last week I thought it was close to midnight, only to realize it was barely after 9 p.m.

That’s the kind of trick December plays on you. The sky folds down before I’m ready, and suddenly I’m sitting there wondering if I should call it a night or just admit I’ve still got half the evening left and keep going.

It’s a strange rhythm for someone who lives by deadlines. The Reporter doesn’t stop because the sun does, and my own circadian rhythms peak in the late afternoon and early evening. And yet, by the time I’m hitting my stride, the sky outside has already gone black.

There’s a kind of irony in it. Just when I feel like I’m getting started, the day tells me it’s done and I feel like I’m working on borrowed time.

I’ll admit, I don’t romanticize these early nights. In fact, I don’t like them at all. I’d rather have the long evenings of July, when the sun hangs around and the day feels like it has more to give.

As a sports fan, flipping the calendar from November to December also brings the disappointment that football season is ending, juxtaposed against the excitement of the beginning of basketball season. The bleachers shift from Friday Night Lights to multiple evenings under the gym lamps, and the rhythm changes with it.

Football and basketball each represent different parts of my personality. Football is the part that thrives on structure. It feels finite, where every game matters, every mistake looms larger and it appeals to the side of me that likes order, deadlines and the sense that everything has weight.

Basketball leans more into improvisation. It’s faster, looser, more forgiving. You can miss a shot and get another chance seconds later or change defenses on the fly. You can lose today and play again tomorrow. It appeals to the side of me that values persistence.

I guess that’s why December feels like a pivot point. Even though it’s the last month on the calendar, it’s always felt to me more like a transition than a conclusion. It’s where endings and beginnings overlap, where the calendar insists on closure but the rhythm of life keeps moving forward. The nights come too soon, but even borrowed time is still time, and it’s worth using.