Taking time to smell the pollution

Because of my schedule, I hardly have any time to smell the roses. It’s difficult to fit it in my calendar. That’s the reason why I hardly get to do anything that involves relaxation.

So, it comes as a surprise to me when I have a day to do nothing. Since it’s me, I have to do something instead of sitting at home all day, looking at the walls (CC-40, Benjamin Moore).

Off I go and make my way to Liberty Village in the western part of the city. It’s secluded, yet is still located off a main street. I make my way around the area, take a few pictures, do a little shoplifting, and have a seat on a restaurant’s patio.

I order a latte made with whole milk and not skim, flip through the pages of the newspaper and occasionally look at the sky, trying to remember the day. It’s beautiful, and it’s something I haven’t been able to take part in for almost two years. I haven’t been living life, but life has been living me.

I take a deep breath and exhale. Of course, because I’m in the middle of the city, I’m not taking time to smell the roses, but the pollution. I cough. Pollution or roses, either way, I’ll take whatever I can get.