Lunch

I'm putting a lunch break back into my life. 

In my first job after college everyone in the office took lunch.  Some people went home, some went to a fast food place, many ate their bagged lunches and reheated leftovers in the small break room in the basement.  On nice days you could sit outside at picnic tables.  The owner of the company, Millie, was an advocate of the two martini lunch.  I thought it was normal to come back from lunch with her a bit tipsy. 

In my second job, lunch hour continued.  Every few weeks a group of us would go to a wildly popular Mexican restaurant.  We would plan these excursions for days when we could get there at opening to avoid the long lines.  On Fridays we went to a bar for burgers and beer.  Many days we ate in our break room, talked, and read the newspapers. 

In graduate school I often met my husband for lunch. He worked near campus and we would select from the many food trucks lining the streets. Other days I would gather with the faculty eating lunch in the courtyard and listen to their academic gossip.

When did my lunch hour disappear?  In my first academic job many of us would eat lunch together in the conference room, similar to my graduate school experience.  But gradually, over time, that practice ended.  By the time I reached Syracuse, shared lunch hours were rare.  Some people went out, some ate in, there were occasional excursions down the hill, impromptu gatherings at the workroom table, but for the most part "lunch hour" was gone.

It has been a long time since I regularly took a lunch break. I would eat at my desk, sometimes trolling the internet, working a crossword, or reading a newspaper, but I still felt like I was at work.  It wasn't really because I was so overextended that I didn't have time for lunch, if I took all the time I goofed off the rest of the day I could easily afford 30-50 minutes for lunch.

I'm putting a lunch break back into my life. For the last few weeks I've eaten lunch in my office, but not at my desk. I've brought in a book to read over lunch and really divorce myself from work for 40 minutes or so.  In nicer weather I hope to be able to go out for a short walk.  I think it has made me more productive, happier, and better able to focus.  I think it is worth it.