The Reason I Never Get Footage of Our Silent-ish Reading Meetups

I'm so focused on being present. Paying attention to who's walking in, who's sitting alone, who might need a little encouragement or someone to talk to. Making sure people feel comfortable, included, and free to enjoy the space however they want.

And somewhere in all of that, I forget to pull out my phone.

Which is hard when you're also trying to grow a little community through social media. Because I WANT to show you how easy and low-pressure these meetups really are. Especially if you're someone who's been watching from the sidelines, trying to convince yourself to come.

Here's something I wish more people knew: these aren't gatherings of people who all already know each other.

Often, the majority of the room is made up of people who showed up alone. People who almost talked themselves out of coming. People who told themselves they'd just stay for five minutes and leave if it felt awkward.

And that's completely okay, too.

But yesterday, I looked around the room and saw little pockets of two or three people chatting about books, comparing drinks, or quietly reading alongside each other. Some were meeting for the very first time.

There were 92 drinks on tap, including some incredible N/A options and even butterbeer. And there was absolutely no pressure to do anything other than enjoy being there.

I wish I had more footage to show you what that felt like.

But I'm also really grateful that I was too busy experiencing it to think about filming.

Maybe that's the whole point of Latte & Leisure. Creating more moments in real life that feel too good to interrupt with our phones. 🤎