Aly Walansky's Newsletter

I first of all want to thank you all for all the thoughtful, lovely, emails you sent in response to my newsletters this week, particularly yesterday. It meant more to me than I can say. I love so much that this group is so much more than sourcing requests and sharing links to stories or opportunities. We do all that, of course, but time and again I get to see and be reminded and experience what a community, and a family we have all become.

I spent the greater part of this week sleeping (or pretending to sleep, to be fair) in a chair at the hospital while living and working on the internet and answering emails pretending it was life as usual, and mannnn am I glad to be on the other side of it and back in the good place. My mom is home now and very much on the mend and all will be well (thank goodness), but what landed her in the hospital for five days wasn’t some dramatic accident or shocking diagnosis.

Imagine calling your favorite bakery to order a beautiful birthday cake. You tell them exactly what you want. Chocolate cake. Buttercream frosting. Fresh raspberries. Maybe a little edible gold leaf if you’re feeling fancy. (I’m always feeling fancy.) Everything is all ready to go, the oven is preheated, the mixer is sitting on the counter. But there’s just one small problem. Nobody has bought the flour, or the eggs, or the cocoa, or the butter.

Some weeks, life is just doing way too much life-ing, and yet, you still have to open those laptops Monday morning and somehow be your creative, productive self. Maybe, sometimes, though, we can ease into that Monday by giving ourselves permission to add tiny moments of delight to an otherwise difficult or stressful (work)day.

There are certain phrases that, after enough years as a journalist, make the little voice in the back of your head go, “Um…really?” “Everyone’s obsessed with this.” “This is going crazy viral.” “You’ve probably already seen this literally everywhere...” “This is exploding on social media.” Maybe it is. But more often than not, everyone is not actually talking about it. Maybe the company’s employees are. Maybe their agency is. Maybe a handful of influencers who were paid to post about it are.

Since it’s Wednesday, it’s time for our weekly hump email, and today, I want everyone reading this to think on this question: If this week ended exactly the way it’s going right now, would you be happy with it? For me, the answer is honestly a little of yes and a little of no, and that’s exactly why I love Wednesdays. By now, Monday has happened. We’re all familiar with that inbox avalanche, and Tuesday becoming almost of a catchup recovery mode.

Yesterday morning I wondered if anyone was actually back at work. Twenty-four hours later, I’ve reached a different conclusion: It doesn’t actually matter. We spend so much time trying to guess when everyone else is “ready,” whether it be for our pitch, get a meeting on the calendar, to answer email, or to make a decision.

So, this morning, when I opened my laptop, I had the same thought I have after almost every long weekend: Is today going to be a normal workday? As you may have noticed, I’m very much attached to a pretty set daily routine and agenda, and anything other than that sends me out of sorts. And yes, I’ve confirmed it’s absolutely a Monday, but my inbox is not actually so sure. It’s absolutely Monday to some of us, but others are still somewhere between the beach chair and the office chair.

First, a quick admin note:Ahead of the July 4th weekend, I have a few updates for the Newsweek’s Readers’ Choice Awards, of which (as a reminder!), I am on the expert panel of journalists who create nominations in a variety of lifestyle categories. Nominations are now live for the Subscription Boxes contests, ranging from nominations in kids boxes to food boxes to wellness boxes and so much more. Please be sure to check out if your clients are included, and vote your hearts out.

Happy Wednesday. Or, as the world insists on reminding us every single week, happy hump day! Photo by Yana Yuzvenko on Unsplash We spend a lot of time making jokes about Wednesdays and camels, but because I don’t sleep and have a lot of 3-am-time on my hands, I got to thinking that I had no idea why camels actually have humps. (Journalist brain.