My bossy friend made me.
I’ve wanted to start a newsletter for a while.
But sometimes I hold off on starting things (especially public things) until I’ve figured out every detail.
Maybe you can relate.
Well, I still don’t have it all figured out. (Do I ever?)
But last night, my bossy friend, Arielle, told me to start anyway:
“It’s due on my desk on Monday!”
I’ve always been a teacher’s pet, so here it is—early.
Now, this first newsletter is going to be a little bit longer... But I have to explain some things by way of introduction.
75% of you are thinking, “I don’t have time for this.”
*Clicks out. Opens up Instagram. Doomscrolls instead.*
So here’s how this came about. I love to journal. And I have a lot of thoughts…
Writing newsletters feels like a semi-public way to journal, allowing me to bring you in on my inner dialogue.
Maybe we can compare notes!
Some people share through social media, but I’m not quite comfortable talking to the camera yet.
Plus, I hate fidgeting with reel settings and filters and captions and how do you find just the right song?!
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve filmed myself speaking to the camera, created dozens of clips, re-recorded in different lighting (because maybe my rosacea would magically disappear?!) only to scrap the whole thing and never post any of it.
An hour of my life (sometimes more ) I’ll never get back.
But writing? That’s easy. A communication form as old as time! And, thank God, it hasn’t gone away.
Though Grok, Claude, and Chat are trying to take it over.
Not here. This is all Stef. Buckle up!
Now, for the modern busy-bees with a short attention span, maybe you struggled reading this far.
And I know there’s a strong chance you’ll only stick around on my subscriber list because of FOMO.
I usually say fear is never a good reason to do ANYTHING, but in this case, let fear drive you… If you opt-out, who knows what juicy revelations you might miss???
So, for you guys, I’ll always include a TL;DR (which, the kids tell me, means “Too Long Didn’t Read.”)
Speaking of the kids, my baby sister turned 30 in February. 😳 This has me feeling pre-historic.
Because, I swear, this was her yesterday.
Anyway, instead of TL;DR, I’ll call it the BLOT (“Bottom Line On Top”) in homage to my past life.
That’s how we were trained to write in the government. Some called it the BLUF (“Bottom Line Up Front”).
Basically, it meant: “Tell the bigwig bureaucrats what they need to know in the first few sentences. If they need more detail, they’ll keep reading.”
Or: “Focus the bosses’ attention on this main point right here, and bury less palatable details somewhere down below.”
For today, here’s the BLOT (and, yes, next time it’ll actually be at the top of the email):
I’m starting a newsletter. (NFI)
(This is government speak for “No Further Information.”)
Now, to the 1% who read this far:
I knew I liked you… And I’m happy you’re here!
And to everyone else, even the non-readers (like my husband), who don’t even know I’m mentioning them right now, I’m so grateful to be walking through life with you.
Whether you’re a:
church friend
travel buddy
business accountability partner
part of the volleyball crew
a tennis partner
beach walk companion
or something in between,
you’re a valued and important member of the community God’s blessed me with.
You matter, and I care!
More to come,
xx, Stef
P.S. Have you ever put an already-completed task on your to-do list just to be able to check it off?
✅ Homework.
P.P.S. For those reading here in the archives, only 30 minutes after I sent this newsletter, my husband replied by email: “I love you, good job. P.S. I read the whole thing.” 🤭
