A Secret Outed, and Five Things

Issue 120

Jan 26, 2024

Dear Friends, it’s a pleasure serving you another issue of The Letter. Let this issue contain a fragment of something useful to you. If nothing more, a smile and smiles are quite useful.

A year ago, Emma found an edible in my makeup bag and popped it like candy. A couple of hours later, we were in the ER.

On that night, the realities of writing publicly showed up—among concern for Emma, of course. Once we returned home safely, and we did, I wanted so badly to tell you what happened—to prevent this from happening to another kiddo ASAP. That evening, I sent Issue 65 of The Letter without saying anything, and you’d never know.

Sharing life’s messes connects us. Yet sharing life’s messes takes enormous courage. Ultimately, I listened to friends and family who urged me not to go public: “Simone, do NOT put this in your newsletter.” I understood their point of view well enough to heed their advice. Still, I wrestled with protecting my reputation over helping others. I strive for the latter.

Emma was okay. She slept it off under a doctor’s eye and mostly recovered without incident. However, she tasted anxiety she’d never felt, and that left a mark. Her anxiety has tapered, and she’s all good. She will not, however, be engaging with marijuana anytime soon.

Action: Buy yourself a lockbox and share this advice with someone you love. There’s no reason not to do this simple step to prevent a child from having a scary experience.

Kids are curious!

Five Things

Do you need a heart-based bookkeeper? You do. I recently met Jessica, and I highly recommend her. She works in Quickbooks. Her approach empowers you to own your books with her as your teacher. Check her out, and tell her Simone sent you.

Full transparency: I’m not working with Jessica because I use different accounting software. But our 30-minute chat was great, and I know she can help you.
When something feels hard, ask yourself this: What would it look like if it were easy? It won’t solve all your problems, but it does give your brain another option and, oftentimes, a simpler way forward. Thank you, Tim Ferriss.
I don’t eat fish, but I really like this fish spatula. It’s my go-to spatch. 🐟
A window into my pen pal relationship with John on San Quentin’s Death Row. He had his 74th birthday on Sunday.

I wrote: Happy Birthday, John! 74 years young. I hope you enjoy something a bit more special than usual today. I don’t imagine birthdays on The Row are much of a party, but I’m sure you can find joy in the moments. Have a wonderful day. More tomorrow. Your friend, Simone 🎉

He responded with: Family keeps one young at heart, as years pass one may go bald from the pulled hair, but family is worth it./////. The Row has it's daily goings on, I have mine, they seldom meet. Thanks for your thoughts, tomorrow we'll connect. Close your eyes, listen for the laughter, problems will fade. Tomorrow S. J.
Three words. Let me remind you of the power of asking someone to tell their story in three words. Many issues back, I suggested you try this technique. Today, the suggestion is back.

When someone’s been on a date, had a job interview, or any life event, and you want a snapshot without asking them to share the full monty—request three words to describe it. You’ll be amazed at how much you can glean.