Normally if I leave the office in the first place, it’s to go to Target or Safeway. Those are in a long row of stores where if you walk on the sidewalk, you’re in a shadow. When it’s cold, it provides a welcome barrier from the wind.

Today I had to go to the bank that’s in the middle of the parking lot, and it wasn’t cold; it was sunny. Walking in the middle of the parking lot took my breath away for a moment, as everything looked and smelled and felt amazing. Those moments are precious and I knew the elation would fade, but I made sure to appreciate it while it lasted.

As I continued toward the bank, I realized that something about the open space in the parking lot reminded me of being at the beach. The long walk to and from the parking lot was sometimes nearly as much a part of the experience as the beach itself, and it seemed fitting that there was a man changing his shirt next to his car.

After I got my money, I wanted to get a Pokestop that required my walking towards that strip of buildings. Normally I’d just have stayed the course and walked back in a straight line, in the shadows.

Today I decided that after receiving my balls and berries, I’d go a tiny bit out of my way to stay in the sunlight. And that it was time to start doing more of that, literally and figuratively.