Yesterday, I did something very different for my lunch hour: I didn’t run errands. I didn’t go to a meeting. And I didn’t eat at my desk.
Instead, I took my packed lunch of pasta salad and crackers downstairs. There, tucked away in a covered breezeway, is a small patio. It’s set far enough back in the property that the only noise is the chatter of folks heading to the parking garage, warbling birds and the constant burble of the building’s signature fountain.
I had the patio all to myself. I set my phone’s alarm and settled in to eat and read a book. (David Herbert Donald’s Lincoln – a wonderful, but lengthy biography. No joke: it’s 599 pages!)
What a different stepping away from busy can make! I returned to the office refreshed, restored and ready to tackle my afternoon tasks.
Until the extreme heat of the Texas summer drives me inside, I think I have a new lunch plan!
Amazing what a difference a total change of pace makes. I'd be interested in hearing your take on the Lincoln biography when you finish. A couple of years ago, I read With Malice Toward None by Stephen B Oates and really enjoyed it. I think that was the only Lincoln biography that I've ever read. I do have the 6-volume set by Carl Sandburg, but talk about a daunting reading task!!
At the risk of spoiling it for you, he dies at the end.
@Bob – so far, I can say that it's fascinating reading. The first 200 pages took some time, mostly due to catching on to the writer's style. Now I hate putting it down.
@John – hahahahahahahahaha