Anticipation of A First Book

Each year as our family gathers on Christmas Eve, my niece and nephew follow Google’s Santa Tracker. Eager to know when jolly St. Nick will arrive and where in the world he is at the moment, they periodically consult their mother’s iPhone to check on Santa’s status. Back in the 1970s when my sister and I waited for Santa, we didn’t have the luxury of knowing whether or not he was on his way, we only hoped he was. We had to wait until the wee morning hours to discover he made it down our 1700s chimney.

I feel like a kid again today as I track the UPS truck that has the final proof of my first book. It will be delivered by a man dressed in a brown suit, not quite as festive as Santa’s suit, in the daylight via brown truck. Internally, I am as excited for his arrival as most kids are for Kris Kringle’s arrival. I’ve been tracking the truck on a Google map UPS gives to expecting customers. I never knew two hours could go by so slowly, reminding me I’m an impatient person at the heart of my calm demeanor.

Checking again, I see the truck is even closer than a few minutes ago. I suspect it will be here in 15 minutes if there aren’t a lot of other people on the route. I’ve toyed with asking the driver to take a photo of me holding the box so I can share it with my social media marketing world. I know I love marketing but this feels like I’m experiencing it at another new level.

Hold on as I check again……yup – the truck is closer. It should arrive at any moment with a box with precious content – my first book. My publishing consultant said, “Don’t underestimate the moment it arrives. It’s like having your first baby. The moment is new and fresh and exhilarating and you can’t have a first baby ever again so enjoy it and don’t rush through opening the box without being grateful for the experience that led up to writing your story.”

The past year and a half, as I watched my hair fall out of my head faster and faster until I was a bald woman by the age of 54, led me up to this unexpectant moment. I never suspected a book would come out of the trauma of losing my identity as a woman and woman entrepreneur but it did. From the lessons of kindness and compassion from so many strangers who have embraced me, along with the conviction and love of my family, friends, and members, I found my way to meet this life-altering change face on – by writing a book about the experience with a universal lesson of love and kindness.