Change is in the air

Fall, new beginnings, and growth

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A few days ago, I woke up to a sensation I hadn’t experience for quite some time: I was cold. It was a nice feeling—sweltering temperatures have never been my favorite and being pregnant only makes this more so.

Fall is coming.

I’ve always loved autumn. It’s the season for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and a new school year, which feels fresh and exciting even when I’m not actually starting school. I think of new packages of school supplies, the shiny promise of a blank notebook. September is also my wedding anniversary (almost three years) and my birthday (34, soon!). I love autumn’s crisp, cool days and the vivid beauty of the leaves changing colors, trees that look as if they’re lit on fire. I love tart apples at the farmers’ market and cozy sweaters.

This fall feels especially big. My daughter Simone just started preschool in New Jersey, where we’ve moved for now. I’m so proud of her, and so overcome with emotion. All the cliches are heart-stoppingly true: where has the time gone, how is she suddenly so incredibly grown up? I’m also thrilled for her—I know she’s going to learn in a million ways, and this school feels like a beautiful, kind, supportive place for her to grow. Simone full-body-sobbed every morning last week at drop-off, but on Friday she walked all by herself into her classroom, and I had to sit for a minute outside and cry myself.

Our new baby is due Thanksgiving, my other favorite fall holiday, which suddenly feels incredibly close. My stomach is growing and growing. (My mom tells me I look more pregnant nearly every time we see each other, which is quite often.) This little one is on the move constantly, waking me up in the night with kicks/jabs/slides into my ribs and my pelvis. It’s wild and exciting.

My other baby, the book baby, has just come out. Having my book out in the world is a bit of a rollercoaster ride of anxiety, excitement, hustle, and vulnerability.

Moving is always weird, and so much work. We still have our apartment in Brooklyn, which feels like home, and a wonderful friend is staying there for the next few months while we get settled in NJ. It’s a pretty much perfect solution (for now), but I’m not the best at these big unknowns, and life feels full of them right now.

I’m trying to enjoy now, Simone’s full-body giggles and our dog Ace’s wiggly tail (another full body experience).

I’m trying to slow down enough to notice the days getting a little shorter and savor the last of the sugary sweet peaches. I’m trying to take some deep belly breaths and say hi to this soon to be new person joining our lives. It’s hard but I’m trying. I don’t want to miss on all this beauty right here in front of me.

Here’s to a sweet, happy year ahead.

xo,

Hannah

PS A bunch of new stories and press!

Plenty received an Earphones Award from Audiofile Magazine. Yay!

A little profile of me and Plenty came out in NJ Monthly Magazine.

For The Strategist, I wrote about getting around with two kids…wish me luck.

For Parent.com, I wrote about how parents carve our precious yet scarce time for creativity.

Who doesn’t love Manchego? I wrote about the iconic Spanish cheese for Cheese Connoisseur.

I profiled cardiologist Dr. Nadal Aker for OliveOil.com about the health benefits of olive oil (and about how health is complicated.)

Photo by Maria Lindsey Content Creator from Pexels