Home Improvements
Dear Writing Friends:
I’m in my writing studio today instead of Starbuck’s, sipping green tea instead of my usual Grande Soy Latte. I have given up the lattes. In fact, I have given up coffee altogether. I recently completed a three-week purification cleanse, for which coffee was not allowed. I was motivated to try the cleanse because I wanted to kick the caffeine habit, as well as clean up my eating habits. And yes, I know green tea has caffeine, but not a lot, and it’s compensated for by the rich antioxidants. And yes, that is somewhat of a justification, but give me credit for the coffee because it was a very big deal.
I’ve been addicted to coffee on and off since I was seventeen. If you know my age and you’re counting, that’s thirty-two years. I’ve quit before—when I was pregnant, of course, and in my late twenties. I was working at the DeCordova Museum when an acupuncturist suggested I try eliminating caffeine. I was so tired the first two weeks I would sneak into the museum bathroom after lunch and sleep on the floor. I kicked the habit but slowly backslid, drifting from green tea to black tea, from black tea to coffee, from two cups to ten. Yes, ten.
Before the cleanse I was crawling back into bed most mornings, waiting for Steve to bring me a maximum strength, large cup from Russell’s on his way home from driving Shira to school. I didn’t keep coffee in the house because, officially, I didn’t drink it—which was getting quite expensive between the morning Russell’s runs and the afternoon lattes at Starbuck’s. It probably goes without saying that by the end of the day, after too many series of adrenalin rushes and subsequent crashes, I was falling-down tired, unable to prepare a decent meal for my family and thus doing a lot of takeout. Which leads us to my eating habits.
Due to poor planning and lack of foresight, I often found myself starving by mid-day with nothing in the house to eat. Most days I ate at coffee shops, hauling my notebook and computer with me. I began eating Caesar salads or tuna salads, but slowly slipped into ordering creamy soups with croutons and bread. Or worse, I just ordered pastry leaving me with a high glycemic hangover and no energy or brainpower to write. All this was exacerbated by my recent trip to Houston when I discovered The Chocolate Bar and found myself sitting in the window seat every day stooped over the richest, thickest, darkest hot chocolate I had ever tasted. I was so quickly addicted to the high butterfat concoction that, when I returned to Austin, I tried to get the mix sent overnight mail.
I’ve written at coffee shops for years, ever since I read Writing Down the Bones and learned that I could write anywhere. But getting out to a coffee shop for a caffeine kick and a hot lunch became a habit. Because I went out a lot, I rarely cleaned my studio. And because I rarely cleaned my studio, I went out a lot to write. I preferred the clean tables by the window at Russell’s to my messy desk at home. But even Russell’s, with it’s soothing, new age music selection, was often noisy with conversation. Many afternoons I’d lose time due to well-meaning interruptions by the regulars.
The cleanse brought me home. Because I was eating mostly smoothies and vegetables, I had to stay close to my kitchen. Mid-morning, instead of running out to get coffee, I cooked vegetables, usually kale or zucchini. And then I returned to my studio. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I used to go to Starbuck’s between my Pilates lesson and picking up Shira from school. During the cleanse, I had to come home and make a smoothie. And, again, I went back to my studio. Spending more time in my studio, I started getting more work done. I wrote two essays in two weeks and my book began falling into place. I felt more at peace as well, staying still for longer. A redbud tree bloomed outside my window and I was constantly serenaded by the call and response of mourning doves.
By the end of the cleanse, in addition to an increase in energy, I had formed new habits. When it was time to add new food, I hesitated, not because I was afraid, but because I was used to eating a certain way. I didn’t want to change. And I became accustomed to being home in my studio. I was happier there than I had ever been. I remember my friend and life coach (and terrific writer), Lori Wostl, saying to a class that it takes three weeks to form a habit. I didn’t think of this when I embarked on the cleanse, but it played out that way.
When I mentioned to my nutritionist, Michelle Brown, that the cleanse had impacted my writing life, she wasn’t surprised. “You make changes in one part of your life,” she said, “and they are bound to impact other areas.” It reminded me of why I fell in love with writing practice. You write down the truth of your life and find yourself changed. You make improvements in your physical and mental health and your writing improves as well.
What new habits would you like to form? Getting up thirty minutes early to write? Exercising on your lunch break? Could you commit to three weeks and see how if affects your life? Try it and give me a holler. Let me know how you are doing.
This month’s quotation:
William Stafford
Upcoming Workshop:
My best to each of you.
Saundra