The Week I Learned to Slow Down

I had a week off work in June and nowhere to go, so I decided to spend it doing everything slowly.

I walked to the coffee shop instead of driving. I read a whole novel on my back porch in two days. I sat in the park and watched a little girl feed ducks for half an hour. I cooked a stew that took six hours and tasted every one of them. I called my grandmother and talked for ninety minutes about her childhood.

I noticed things I'd never noticed. The way my neighbor hums while she gardens. The pattern the leaves make on my bedroom wall in the evening. The fact that the bakery down the street makes cinnamon rolls on Thursdays.

When I went back to work, I felt like I'd been on a long trip somewhere beautiful. I hadn't left town. I'd just slowed down enough to see it.