my Panera community

This morning I am sitting at Panera Bread to write.  I brought my journal filled with topics and ideas for stories and blog posts, but this experience is just so cool that it is, in and of itself, enough to write about.

Bringing my laptop to a place like this is a very trendy thing to do.  I am not a terribly trendy person so I feel a bit out of my comfort zone, but after my cinnamon crunch bagel with honey almond cream cheese I am convinced this is a lifestyle I could get used to.   Quickly.

As I sit here listening to classical music playing while occupying a private table with Wi-Fi, knowing that good food and drink are just a counter away, I realize this is the life I was destined for. (insert wry smile)

Something about being here makes me feel..... author-y.  Meeting-ish.  Important-like.

Is that why I came?

Good question.

As you might have guessed, my laptop works just fine at home where the food is (almost) free.  I have Pandora on my computer so I can listen to all the classical music I want.  And when my browser opens while I'm sitting in my dining room, I don't get a welcome/login screen that asks me to be considerate and leave the table after 30 minutes if the establishment is busy.

So why am I here?

I've  read that a writer's life can be a very lonely one; quiet, somewhat sequestered, working solo on project after project.   I'm hardly living the writer's life, but this morning I felt a strong need for community, even if they were community I didn't really know.  To my credit, I picked a back table so as not to be noticed, but to at least be here.  With similar others doing similar things.

God created me to crave community.  I cannot do life alone.  Sometimes that community needs to be intimate enough to hold my hand and walk me through a tough spot, but more often than not it just needs to be background noise keeping me company while I do something else.

And some days, like today, I need a cinnamon crunch bagel and classical music thrown in for it to be just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks, Panera.  It was wonderful doing community with you today.  I'm sure you'll see me again soon. 

I think I'm beginning to like trendy.