I became a cook in my late 20’s. Someone had given me a card for the company Hello Fresh, which at the time was just starting out with their meal delivery kits. I got a free trial and never looked back. Meal delivery took everything I hated out of the cooking process; mostly, going to the grocery store and measuring things out. After a few years of using the service every week, I felt like I could basically cook anything, even if I didn’t have a great sense of flavor.

I told a friend of mine that I was visiting a place called Pokomoke City for work. He looked it up on his phone. “Wow, that’s way out there,” he said. “But I always think it’s good to visit another place that’s far away. You know, to talk to the people there, so you don’t get too wrapped up in your own bubble.” And it’s true that the people that live in my hometown of DC are living in a bubble.

I write a lot, and I always have. I prefer word processing to handwriting usually, because I get annoyed at how much I scribble over things when I write. I don’t use an eraser, even if I’m using a pencil. What’s the point? An eraser is for school children turning their work in to a teacher. It makes the page cleaner but it gives the illusion of perfection. Look at any of my old notebooks or index cards and you’ll find more scribbles than words.

It used to make me feel awkward whenever I would leave the office at 4pm and my boss would say, “have a good evening!” Is it evening at 4pm? I was under the impression it was still afternoon. This memory inspires the question: when exactly is the evening? In my mind, it’s always been pretty straightforward: anytime between the time you wake up and noon is the morning, noon to 4 is the afternoon, 4-6 is the late afternoon, 6-9 is the evening, and after 9 up to when you go to bed is definitely night.

If you’re unaware, a staycation is a vacation where you don’t vacate – you stay at home and either enjoy low key activities or explore the city in which you live. My wife and I decided to do one recently. During that time we went kayaking, bought a new car, saw a movie in theaters, planned for our son’s birthday party and much more. The extra time to reflect was beneficial and taught me a lot of lessons.