For the past few months, I’ve been putting into practice a happiness project of sorts. At the end of each month, I reflect on the things I’m thankful for, from large to small, in order to refocus attention away from stressors and anxious things and instead celebrate the moments of happiness. This is, in a sense, my way to stop and smell the roses.

August slipped away from me and I forgot to take the time to reflect at the end of the month, so I’m bundling August and September together.

If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll already know that I lost my 12-year-old dog Brownie last month. August 19th to be exact. While this is one of the saddest days of my life, I am thankful and grateful for the 11 months she was a part of my life. I rescued Brownie as a foster dog through City of Elderly Love and she never left. This beautiful, silly, and loving dog will always be missed and loved. I still think about her daily and miss her all the time.

I’m thankful to have been able to spend a week at the beach with my mother’s side of the family. We haven’t gathered together as a group in over 10 years and it was so heartwarming to spend time with this side of the family.

As I plan to move to Denver next month, I’ve been saving moments in my mind of things I love about Philadelphia. I’ll miss walking down beautiful streets lined with rowhomes and trees. I’m so thankful for my time here in Philadelphia.

I’m thankful for spontaneous day trips to the beach and for friends who make time for road trips and time in the sunshine.

Camping is probably one of my favorite things to do. I’m so thankful I have friends that enjoy it just as much as I do! I’m also thankful that my friend Danielle is a master fire starter because I’d be out here sitting in the cold without her talent for starting fires in the wild!