Artist Date Update

All of this year I have struggled to do artist dates. In other words, I didn’t do them. When I learned about the concept of scratching, I gravitated toward that instead, as documented on the blog here and here. Recently I decided to do artist dates again, though. I rushed through the first two. I didn’t allow myself to luxuriate in the time. And then I had a successful one.

I have been thinking about redesigning my home for a long time, so I went to a furniture store and I was looking for a new sofa but also looking for decor inspiration and feeling nostalgia because it’s a store I went into with my parents as a child. Then I drove home and listened to podcasts as I sat in traffic. This is something I do almost everyday after work anyway, but I had a new mindset: “this is my artist date time and I can enjoy this time for myself.” Then I went to Trader Joe’s, a store I like but don’t shop at often, and wandered around looking for some old, familiar, favorite products. I let myself buy them as treats for now and for later.

My artist date might have looked like running errands, but that is not what it was. I carved out time for myself. An intentional break in routine. I gave myself the opportunity for visual stimulation in two stores. And I felt the attitude of “I can do whatever I want for myself this evening,” with zero sense of guilt. It was a pleasure I look forward to experiencing again.