The Sidewalk Not Taken

My weekday life is highly predictable.  I wake early to exercise and shower before getting my daughters on the bus.  I drive to campus, teach my classes, eat lunch at my desk, check email, hold office hours, and then return home where I cycle through the evening routine: homework, dinner, clean-up, activities, baths and bedtime for the girls, and, once the house is still and quiet, I grade and prep my materials for the next day's classes.

Lather, rinse, repeat, day after day.  The routine works, but sometimes routines need to be shaken up.

So that's what I did today.  It's been glorious lately: low humidity, warm temperatures, and blue skies that highlight the emerging golden leaves.  It's like summer in September, and when you're experiencing summer in September, you don't need to eat lunch with a view of your computer.

Instead, you need to find an unoccupied bench, sit down, and eat lunch while enjoying the view of campus.  You might even need to quote some Robert Frost to yourself:
 
Two sidewalks diverged on a campus and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Take the sidewalk less traveled by.  Such a simple change, yet it does the soul good.