John and I are lucky in that we have a lot in common in terms of values, food, furniture aesthetic, and so on.  Of course, there are plenty of ways in which our tastes usually don’t align: books, movie genres, the pleasure attainable from running and other extreme sports (yes, running is an extreme sport in my book).  For the most part, the things we have in common are what make our relationship work and the things we don’t agree on are what add interest.

Despite all that we do have in common, one major difference between the two of us is what we do for work (besides parenting).  John works in finance, and I, as you’ve seen, am a freelance writer and editor, fresh from a publishing house.  We like to say that John works with the numbers and I handle the words.  Thankfully, in getting to learn about John’s job over the past few years, I’ve seen that both our jobs require a good deal of intelligence, hard work, and creativity.

Despite all I’ve learned, though, I still don’t understand most of the finance jokes that come my way.  So it took some explaining when John suggested the idea of a “Daily BSI.”

Let’s rewind for a moment.

When John went back to work after his paternity leave, I told him I’d do my best to send him a photo of Jacob every day.  I’d planned to take a photo of the little dude every day in at least his first year, anyway, and John was excited to get a photographic update on the little guy each day.

What began with John forwarding the photos to a couple of his colleagues turned into a mini-listserv that I eventually took over.  Turns out no matter what industry you’re in, cute baby photos simply make a day better.

Thus was born the “Daily BSI” or “Baby Schlegel Index.”  For those as financially-illiterate as I am, there are all kinds of indices finance folks use to gauge what’s going on in the market.  They too have crazy acronyms, but unlike the BSI, they are monthly or quarterly (or something, I don’t know; they’re just not daily.  Ask John.).

Anyway, moral of the story, I now send a daily email to my husband and a dozen of his co-workers, all of whom, for the record, I have met and very much like.  And as an added bonus, Jacob already has a leg up in finance, should he choose to pursue that as a career path.  Maybe I shouldn’t send out photos of baby bathtime?