I Make My Office a Beach

I think happy thoughts. Thoughts of puppies running through sunlit meadows. Kittens climbing up on laps for head scratches. Thoughts of margaritas on a summer beach. Lying in the sand under an umbrella listening to the ocean waves. I re-create this under my desk. I buy some sand from Home Depot. I focus my task light on me. I take my shirt off. I turn on ocean sounds on my computer. I put sunscreen on. What are you doing? my boss says. I’m enjoying my August, I say. Just like the Europeans.