Slow Down
We hope everyone’s enjoying their summers so far as we hit the halfway point. We’re desperate for a little more sunshine in fog-ridden Daly City, but are optimistic we’ll get a late-breaking sunshine streak as is common in the Bay Area. Happy August, everyone!
Food for Thought
We live near Silicon Valley, where startups are often encouraged to “move fast and break things” in hopes of finding ways to improve society. This is great in many cases, especially where entrenched parties have little incentive to change for the better. But moving fast isn’t always the best way forward, especially if you consider the things you break to be precious. The last few months have taught us the importance of moving slowly as well, even when things are less than ideal, and we’re itching to make progress.
Slowing down has allowed us to cherish the time we’ve been able to spend with each other, taking long walks talking about what’s important to us, or playing cards and talking a healthy amount of trash when we compete. We don’t know when we’ll get this much time together in the future, when we return to fast-paced work and the pull of obligations. So we’re taking it a day at a time.
Slowing down allows you to focus on what’s important, whether the fundamentals of skills you’re learning or industries you’re trying to understand. It’s important to get the basics right—in your relationships or your work or anything else—because they’re the foundation of everything you’ll build in the future. Breezing through means less attention, and attention is what we give to things that matter.
We know you’re all probably anxious about when all of this craziness is going to end. We are too. But we hope that, every once in a while, you take the opportunity to look around you and see where this chance to slow down is a blessing. Maybe it’s more time with your quickly-growing kids, even if juggling work makes it harder. Maybe it’s the ability to pick up a hobby you love. Or maybe it’s just more space to yourself. The future will be here soon enough.
Shoutouts
🎂 Happy birthday to our very own Mama (Janice) Lee! We’re so grateful for everything you’ve been and are to us and hope that your coming year is filled with love, laughter, and hopefully sooner rather than later, all the international travel you can handle.
👶🏽 Congratulations to Heather and Chris on the birth of baby Avery! Here’s hoping that he sleeps more like Dad (i.e., often and deeply) than Mom. We can’t wait to teach him the two-step!
Better Together
What’s been going on? Feel like you need someone to talk to, or just send good vibes your way? Whatever way you’re feeling, we encourage you to fill out our weekly connection card (anonymously, if you prefer) so we can keep you and your loved ones in our thoughts and prayers. We read every submission, and reach out to connect when it’s appropriate. Or you can feel free to reach out to us directly by replying to this email (or texting one of us, or whatever medium you prefer). We can’t wait to hear from you!
Soundtrack
In keeping with this week’s theme, we wanted to suggest a few songs to help you slow down a bit and savor the present.
“Waitin’ On A Woman” by Brad Paisley
Paisley, one of the country music kings of sentimentality, reminds us that anything worth it is worth waiting for. It can be easy to grow impatient in anticipation, but sometimes it’s good to take a breath and experience gratitude for the thing you’re eagerly awaiting.
“Sunday Morning (Questlove Remix)” by Maroon 5
Questlove took an already great song and chopped it up to be a nearly perfect song to listen to on, well, Sunday mornings, especially when you’re getting up and thinking through what you want to get done for the day. Sometimes it’s good to just stay in bed a little longer and savor the stillness rather than speeding into the frenetic future.
This song was almost our wedding first dance song and comes from Jay’s favorite band of all time. It teaches us to be present in the moment and cherish it, because time often moves forward faster that we’d like:
I want to break every clock
The hands of time could never move again
We could stay in this moment for the rest of our lives
Is it over now, hey, hey, is it over now?
For the full list of songs included in our newsletters, click here.
As always, please keep in touch! We’re so lucky to have seen so many of you in the months since we’ve returned, and we hope to keep seeing even more of you with each passing week. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area and are open to a socially distant hangout, just holler! And, don’t hesitate to shoot us emails, texts, chats, or video invitations—you’re all the best part of our days!
Love,
Jen & Jay