I always thought of Fall as a season endings, the start of the inevitable cold and barren winter ahead. Shorter days, anxious back-to-school energy, silent but potent pressure to push a productive few months before the holidays rush in. Bye bye Summer, bye bye sun, bye bye fun. Maybe that’s why I moved to California.

But this year, September feels different.

I’ve been hibernating for a while and grateful to be resurfacing this season with an optimism of new beginnings and a fruitful harvest ahead. I started the year with 2 “Bs” on my 2023 intention list – Book and Baby. I’ll jump to the punchline to joyously share with you that my first book is launching October 17th and baby boy is arriving this Christmas!

What we don’t always appreciate about the joy of harvest is the effort, discipline and – quite frankly – unsexiness of the process itself. We often connect gratitude to an outcome or result rather than our willingness to engage in and persevere through the long, hard journey.

IVF was once again a roller coaster of mental, physical and emotional stress. But we stuck with the process – the countless appointments, the injections, the medications, the unfair demands of patience (the latter was the most brutal this time around). Finishing the manuscript of my first book, finding the right editor and publisher, and working through the endless editorial and publishing process was a similar labor of love and persistence.

And here we are – months (actually, years) of toil and effort summarized in a sweet moment of a grateful harvest – Book and Baby are arriving.

I will have much more to share in the weeks to come about the book and fresh new lessons on leadership as we head into the Fall together. Until then… here’s a sneak peek! And I’m grateful we are reconnected.