Reading deprivation, day 5

Caught myself reading!

Day 5

I caught myself reading for pleasure twice today! The first time was after a friend mentioned an essay on Coffee + Crumbs. I immediately looked up the essay, read the title and first few sentences, then WAIT! NO! I closed the tab. The second time was when Andy showed me the booklet that came with a gorgeous box of Neuhaus chocolates he brought home from his work trip. The booklet outlines the company's history—it started when a pharmacist with a fondness for making confections decided to cover his medicines in chocolate to help conceal their bitter taste. Fascinating! I got a few pages in before realizing I was—ack—reading! For pleasure!

THE AUDACITY!

I didn’t miss reading as much as usual, though. I’m going to compare this to Whole 30 again. If you want to succeed, you must train your thoughts to stop thinking about all the foods you can’t eat and focus instead on what you can. I set aside a crossword puzzle to work on while waiting in the school pickup line and looked forward to it all day. Instead of podcasts or Taylor Swift, I listened to instrumental music while folding laundry and doing dishes. I worked from home and made myself a big breakfast after taking Chloe to school. Usually, I would scroll through Substack or read a novel if eating alone at home, but I couldn’t do that. I literally did nothing but eat and sit with my thoughts.

I took a 40-minute walk and decided not to listen to any music. I took my usual route and spent some time praying at “my spot”—a swing bench along a path in town that I like to think was put there just for me.

The evening flew by. I made a big dinner and helped Chloe study for a test. We FaceTimed Andy’s mom for a bit. Andy and I spent an hour and a half catching up after Chloe went to bed. Neither of us checked our phones during the conversation. It was so refreshing!

I never thought I would call a day without reading “good,” but it was. It was a great day.