#routines

This morning I decided to walk a different route to the coffee shop—exactly one block east of my usual path. It's strange how such a small deviation can make a familiar neighborhood feel completely foreign. The light hit the buildings at a different angle, casting long shadows that turned ordinary storefronts into geometric puzzles.

There's a bakery on this street I'd never noticed before, despite walking parallel to it for two years. The window was fogged from the inside, and through it I could see a baker pulling trays from an oven. The smell of butter and yeast stopped me mid-step.

This is what I'd been missing by staying in my routine.