Hello September.

Here we are again! Time to soak in the September gratitude -and the beginning of a cozy fall. My robe and skein of yarn are ready!

First, let's talk about this website, which has been a little side pet project of mine for the past three years. And, like most things, it has changed a bit along the way.

The idea actually came to me while I was soaking in a bathtub in the depths of winter at a house where I was pet-sitting. I’ve always been curious about random and useful knowledge. Everything from discovering that dolphins are actually whales, to learning that a song was scientifically constructed by experts to be one of the most relaxing songs in the world.

If something piques my interest, I want to know more about it, I want to share it, and I want to help others.

And while I was sitting there in the water, I thought, What better way to share all these interesting things I stumble across than to put them all in one place and hopefully help someone else along the way?

When I first started this website, the idea was simple: short, interesting, helpful little posts that would take about five minutes to read.

A variety of topics. A little something to learn. Maybe a fun fact you didn't know. An interesting study. Then, off you go with your day.

Simple.

Somewhere along the way, though, the posts got longer. And longer. And loooonnnnnggggeeerrr.

Before I knew it, those little five-minute snippets had turned into long, winding, comprehensive articles.

And while I love that, too.

It's time to go back.

Small snippets.
Easy to digest.

There’s something really desirable about simplifying things (in all areas) and making room for who and what matters most.

And on that note, I’m grateful.

I’m grateful for every person who takes the time to read Help Me Be and walks away having learned something new or useful. Or find their lives enriched. 

My mom actually said something to me on the phone the other day that made me smile. She had brought up a health concern with me, and the next day she called me to say that I have a special way of making people feel better and less stressed in these situations.  She even encouraged me to go into the health field because I had made her feel so much better. 

I love my mum. Those compliments meant a lot to me. They inspired me to pick up my figurative pen and come here. 

I'm grateful for people who notice. 

Speaking of that, I'm grateful for an interaction I had the other day with a lovely woman who did just that. 

I was at work, tending to my job, when she came up and started talking to me. She took a genuine interest in me, what I was doing, and my job overall. I joked that maybe we should team up. Then she looked at me and said:

“You have the most beautiful skin I’ve ever seen. No blemishes, no wrinkles, and beautiful teeth, too.”

Sure, I put effort into my skincare and health, so I do get compliments from time to time, but she took it to a whole new level then by giving me the most unexpected, beautiful compliment.

She said:

“You’re the full package.”

Well.

Okay, then! 

I’m the full package.

Do I feel like the full package? Ah, no, who does? But that's why this comment was so striking...and special.

She saw something beautiful in me that others may not see. 

That made me feel pretty good.

A completely random woman walked up to me and said I was the full package.

I’m still in awe of it. 

I’m grateful for her. People who notice. People who encourage. People who engage. People who make days brighter.

She made my month!

What about you? What are you grateful for this September?