Good morning, DMV! It’s Wednesday, July 1, and this is my 100th newsletter since launching on Feb. 5.
I started it when I was in a thick fog just a day after being laid off by the Washington Post. I had been editing the Post Local newsletter and had connected with readers. But when I lost my job, I wasn’t ready to let go of my relationship with readers or the newsletter, which I had started to consider my gratitude journal.
I now consider my Daily Dose a community gratitude journal. It keeps me connected with you, readers, and goings-on around town. It has given me a path forward that feels intentional and right. It has given me structure, routine, comfort, joy and community.
So today, I thought I’d share my Daily Dose by the numbers. I’ve included in this list the many things that have given me joy over the past several months.
5,632
Number of Daily Dose subscribers as of today. Could I ask each of you to share this newsletter with friends, family or colleagues who might enjoy my newsletter and see if they’d sign up to help me grow?
201
Reader photos submitted through my online form. This doesn’t include the many pics I’ve received by email. Readers tell me that these photos make them feel connected with each other and the wider DMV community. Since a heat dome is moving upon us, here are some reader pics to cool you down. Share your photos of how you’re beating the heat in the DMV.
This is the first photo I received in my submission form. Mary Raye Cox took this pic in her front yard in Falmouth, Virginia, on Feb. 9. (Mary Raye Cox)
On Jan. 31, Brock Lusky put microspikes on his shoes and went for a jog in the woods around Alexandria. (Brock Lusky)
Ruth Boggs, of Greenbriar, Virginia, sent in this photo she took on Feb. 9 of an igloo her neighbor built with his kids. (Ruth Boggs)
My former colleague Tom Jackman, who covered cops and courts for the Washington Post for more than two decades, spotted these deer in his yard in Fairfax City, Virginia, on Feb. 9. (Tom Jackman)
1,490
Daily Dose-related chains of emails that I’ve received and sent, according to a cursory glance at my inbox. This number doesn’t include anything I’ve deleted.
38
Email threads I need to re-read and/or respond to. That seems manageable.
2
1,000-piece puzzles I’ve completed since I was laid off, though one was missing two pieces. I include these in my Daily Dose numbers because they helped me keep my sanity. Also I gifted the dark blue one with the birds to a reader.
This puzzle was so hard. I started it Jan. 30, before I was laid off, and finished March 6. It’s missing two pieces. (Alisa Tang)
I started this puzzle May 18 and finished on May 22. Pardon the glare in the pic! (Alisa Tang)
73
Classes I’ve taken at my yoga studio since getting laid off. This sounds completely unrelated to my newsletter, but in fact, it is the daily dose that helps me keep my head screwed on straight and put one foot in front of the other.
Have a question, suggestion or tip for me? Jot it down here.
This newsletter is free. I work on it solo, spending hours each day looking for things to do, going out and doing them, writing about them — because I seek joy and want to share it with you. I treat my Daily Dose as a community gratitude journal and love doing it. If this newsletter brings you joy, please consider supporting my work with a one-time, monthly or yearly donation to help keep me going. Do you know anyone who would enjoy reading me? Forward this to them to help me grow. For newcomers: To subscribe, click here.
📰 News around the DMV
D.C.’s fireworks supershow this year could be a smoke-filled mess (Capital Weather)
🍨 Things to do
7 cool international ice cream spots around D.C. (Washingtonian)
Your guide to Fourth of July fun in the D.C. area (Washingtonian)
☀️
