Good morning, DMV! It’s Wednesday, May 27.
So many people across our region have suffered from the DOGE cuts. Federal workers. Fed-adjacent contractors who lost funding. USAID.
Nationwide, federal civilian employment fell by about 335,000 jobs during that period, including about 81,500 across Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
81,500 in the DMV — that’s a big number.
Did you lose your job in the past year or so? How are you coping? Please click on this form to share your story, which I may share in this newsletter, in hope that we can spark fresh ideas for others in this situation and a sense of camaraderie as we move forward.
For me, life after the layoff hasn’t been easy. I keep thinking I should be over it by now. But I’m not.
How are you? Neighbors and acquaintances ask. Do I follow the usual social script — “Good, and you?” Or do I respond honestly and hope someone offers wisdom or advice to help me take another step forward?
“Ups and downs,” I say, then elaborate a bit about being laid off without sharing too much despair.
I keep active with yoga, tennis, biking. (I’m so strong!) I calm my mind through knitting, puzzles and writing. (Anxiety makes me a productive knitter and puzzler.) This newsletter feels intentional and right, though it is a big shift from my previous newsroom life with colleagues, a fixed routine and a regular paycheck.
A 1,000-piece puzzle I launched May 18. (Alisa Tang)
I finished it May 22. (Alisa Tang)
How do I feel 100 percent again? Be patient, people say. Give myself time and grace. Sway with the current. Be the water. Accept. But it’s hard.
So I give myself tasks to keep me moving forward. Outings and interviews for fun with my family and for this newsletter. A few shifts as a yoga studio assistant — 15 minutes before and after class checking people in, sweeping floors and wiping down yoga mats — which keeps me in community and reminds me I’m not alone.
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
A year after layoffs, former federal workers are still piecing their lives back together (Capital News Service)
Trump administration pushes governmentwide NDA for federal employees (Federal News Network)
25 things to do in the D.C. area this week and weekend (Washingtonian)
📷 Reminders of your winter joy
I have more photos you sent in this winter that I haven’t been able to delete without sharing. A little over three months ago, this was our world …
(Bekki Sims)
Bekki Sims, who recently became a resident of Kent Island, Maryland, after many years in Bethesda: “Never had experienced the Chesapeake Bay freezing! This was on Sunday, 1/25/26, the day of the big storm, from our home on Kent Island on the East Bay.”
(Madeline Scott)
Madeline Scott, a Bethesda resident who was 13 when she sent this photo in mid-February: “This is a photo of the mountain outlook by Mt. Saint Mary’s [University] in Maryland. I took it while I was heading to go skiing in Pennsylvania.”
(JoEllen Baugh)
JoEllen Baugh, of Alexandria, Virginia, captured this image on Feb. 9 while waiting for the Walk for Peace as they passed Old Town Alexandria.
“Sunrise on a cold and icy Potomac River,” she wrote in her submission.
How did you celebrate Memorial Day? How are you celebrating Eid al-Adha? Please share your photos of life in the DMV here.
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