Friends! Hi. It’s me. I know I can’t believe it either. After years of talking about a newsletter, I am attempting to figure it out. I’ve spent approximately 53 hours trying to set up a Substack. I haven’t figured out all the tabs and automated features and my attempt at Canva graphic design elements is meager at best. But here we are. First post - ✔️
For nearly the last four years (I know, I know, time is wild), I’ve set up shop over on Instagram, hosting a regular faux talkshow from my front porch/the carpool line/random parking lots around town. What started off as a distraction during ‘unprecedented times’ has become a fixture of community in my daily life.
Don’t worry. TMS isn’t going anywhere. In fact, as we approach the end of season 4, I can’t seem to let go of the feeling of wanting to ‘shake things up’. More ability to connect community. More ways to share my heart. More chances to build relationships in the chat. So we’re gonna test drive Substack to start things off. Could this all end poorly? Yes. Yes it could. But it could also be great? I guess only time will tell. Regardless of the outcome, I think some fun will be had and memories will be made.
I’m not in a headspace for traditional goals setting or resolutions at the moment. Instead, I jotted down 6 things I hope 2024 brings because 10 felt like too many and 6 is half of 12. This list gives me a place to start each day/week/month.
More walks outside (with friends as possible).
More attempts to set the coffee up the night before (one less thing to do in the morning)
More snail mail (seems cliche but I love a good card and just cleaned up my card files and really have no excuse).
More fun time in the kitchen (I love cooking but feeding my people and cooking for fun is a complicated situation).
More stretching (every time I finish a stretch I wonder why I don’t stretch more often).
More believing in myself and less worrying about pleasing everyone else (saved the heaviest, hardest one for last).
Let’s wrap things up with our first soap box of the 2024 season.
This is my every day reminder that people do life differently and you get to make the rules for your lane: Over-the-top holiday breakfasts? Make those heart-shaped pancakes and don’t forget to dye them pink!! Chicken House Drive-Thru breakfast on holiday-themed paper plates? Sounds great! Do a load of laundry every single morning or have a laundry party every Sunday. Or perhaps a combination of all of the above.
No one knows the exact nuisances of your life circumstances and set-up. I love, love, love the idea of dinner as a family around the table, and it’s also 100% not a possibility in our house, most nights, in this current season. We are still surviving and thriving just fine.
Collect tips from the internet. Gather ideas from friends and neighbors. Listen to a Dr. Becky podcast. Screenshot a hair product suggestion from TIBAL. But remember that you are the one living in your exact season of life. Live how you want to; instead of how you ‘should’. Your lane. Your rules.
xo,
KNW
PS: As promised in my welcome note, I appreciate you looking past my questionable use of commas, semi-colons; ellipsis…and the occasional typo. I never spell the word ‘occasional’ correctly on the first go. I always add an extra ‘s’.
PPS: We’re gonna keep things ‘free’ around here for the time being as I try to hash out exactly what this little space is going to look like. Selfishly most excited to figure out the subscriber chat feature. Stay tuned.
Excited for you from a back row friend!
Excited to continue the journey and build the community!