I recently moved my office from West End to Center615 in East Nashville. We’ve only been here a couple of weeks, but I’m really enjoying the new space even though they still have a lot of projects ongoing and everyone is still settling in. I too am settling in as I learn a different commute, different parking, locations of things (like the post office), etc. Yesterday, I stumbled upon a new little habit I have, that I particulary enjoy.
There are two primary parking lots at Center615 and most people prefer to park in the smaller one that is located near the main entrance. Since I drive a “big-ass truck”, I always feel a bit in the way, so I started parking in the lot on the other side of the building. It’s a bigger and since Hardaway Construction is on that side of the building, there are more trucks as well. It just felt like the best place to park “Bubba Jane”. The only downside, which I’m sure everyone else thinks as well, is that you have to walk around the building to get to the main entrance.
It’s not a long walk, maybe half a block, but when you’ve just finished a frustrating commute into work, it’s not a natural choice to want to add a short walk. Nor is it something you look for when you’ve been worn thin from a long day at work, to have to walk around the building just to go home.
But, I like it.
Even as the heat of the summer is upon Nashville, I like the short walk into work from the parking lot. It’s shaded by small trees that line the bricked sidewalk on one side. Surrounding the trees is fresh-cut grass which leads to an ocean of dark black mulch that surround a chain of islands of small bushes and flowers in front of the building.
As I walked into work this morning, there was a light breeze that carried the sent of flowers longing for the cooler days of spring. The tree braches above my head waved at me gently as if to say “Hey, welcome back!” I noticed my pace slow down. No longer marching into work, I strolled in and enjoyed the experience along the way.
It’s a small thing really, but this little walk of mine is a nice transition to-and-from my day of labor. In the morning I shrug off the frustration of bad drivers and poorly made Starbucks coffee cups that insist on dripping (long story). In the evening, I clear my head of all the undone tasks and projects and let them fall behind me in an invisible trail as I make my way down the path.
It’s nice.
Photo Credit: Walking Around, courtesy of Chris Miller.