A Change of Scenery

I decided to take my own advice and enjoy a change of scenery while I write today’s blog post. On weekdays, my morning routine is to get up early, make a cup of coffee, solve the Wordle, open up my laptop, and write at my kitchen counter. The house is quiet, and I’m at my creative best at this time of day. On weekends, the kitchen is the absolute worst place to write. The phone rings endlessly, thanks to sales calls about our timeshare, recorded messages from elected officials, and prescription reminders from CVS. The only juices flowing in there is the one made from oranges.

I do have some other viable options of places to write on the weekends. I’ll sit on the couch by the bay window, which brings lots of sunlight. There is good pillow action there and no tv in the room. But, when I settled into the couch with my brand-new lap desk, I realized my laptop was too big for it. It slides off in this annoying way that is not conducive to the writing process.

My daughter’s bedroom is also available, and she has a door that closes. It’s an excellent alternative, except for our dog. Chloe will ultimately find me there and scratch incessantly at the door until I open it and pay attention to her.

So, this morning I found myself thinking: where else could I write?

And then, I remembered that we have a new library building that I don’t take advantage of often enough. It is air-conditioned, well-lit, quiet, and void of distractions, diversions, and dogs. I quickly packed up my bag with everything I thought I needed – my laptop, laptop charger, cell phone, cell phone charger, earbuds to listen to music, and the dongle to plug into my iPhone. I also brought a mask, a notebook, a pack of tissues, and a bottle of Gatorade.

I grabbed my keys, and away I went for an amazing afternoon of productive writing time! WOO-HOO!

As I unpacked, I patted myself on the back for putting this time to good use and carving out quality time for my craft. Why haven’t I done this before? This library is the perfect spot for writing. It’s not crowded. The Wi-Fi works and no password is required. There are plenty of nice spaces for me to choose from and settle in. If I want a study room, I can reserve it ahead of time. If not, I can plop myself down in a spacious cubicle and look out the window at the pretty trees surrounding the building. I happily set up my workspace and got busy.

It was then that I realized I had forgotten my purse. Inside my purse are a few other essentials I hadn’t considered bringing until I needed them the most.

• Reading glasses to see the laptop screen clearly
• A pen to write in my notebook
• A library card because I should probably check out the book I want to read instead of buying it at the bookstore.
• My driver’s license, money, credit cards, house key, etc.

Seriously?! What woman leaves their house without a purse. (I’m sure many women do, but I am not one of them). I could do without the library card. My husband is home, so I don’t need my house key. But, a pen and reading glasses are some necessities. It’s like going hiking and leaving my outdoor boots and water bottle home. I am not prepared!

But, it is so peaceful here that I decided to make the best of it. I have lots of laundry at home, and once I start on that, who knows if I’ll get anything written today. I’ll consider this library trip a dry run and not make the same mistakes twice.

P.S. If you see any typos in today’s post, now you know why. 🙂