This one comes later than usual — because September was a month that refused to be summarized in one sitting. It carried both the weight of loss and the light of small beginnings. A month of quiet mourning, slow healing, and unexpected tenderness.

We lost our beloved Millie — our gentle companion, our silent comfort through long days and lonelier nights. Her absence changed the air of our home; even the walls seemed to remember her steps. Grief became part of our daily rhythm — a shadow that followed, soft but persistent.

And yet, even in that silence, life found its way back. By mid-September, we welcomed Luna and Miyuki — two little souls who arrived like whispers of grace. Their energy filled the spaces Millie once warmed, not replacing her, but reminding us that love, when shared, does not run out. It multiplies.

This month taught me that sometimes, you can hold grief in one hand and gratitude in the other — and somehow, both can coexist without canceling each other out.

Life Lately (The Highlights Reel)

🌙 Said goodbye to Millie — our home’s quiet heartbeat and light

🐾 Welcomed Luna and Miyuki — tiny reminders that love continues in new forms

📺 Watched multiple Chinese series on VIKI — stories that became small escapes after long shifts

☕ Visited local cafés and wrote more Sunday Slow Diaries

🛋️ Enjoyed a day at IKEA with friends — laughter between aisles, new memories built over furniture dreams

🍓 Tried EL&N Café in Birmingham — pink interiors, pretty pastries, and that reminder that joy can also be aesthetic

On Repeat

“Photograph” – Ed Sheeran

“From Now On” – The Greatest Showman OST “Better Days” – Dermot Kennedy

“The Light Before We Land” – The Delgados “Love in the Dark” – Adele

Each one a soundtrack to reflection — songs that held me when words fell short.

Reading Corner

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden — chilling, suspenseful, and the perfect distraction when reality felt too heavy.

Lesson of the Month

Grief and gratitude can live side by side.

The ache of loss does not erase love — it refines it. It softens the soul, widens empathy, and teaches the language of endurance.

Millie’s love didn’t end when her life did. It continues in Luna’s playful eyes, in Miyuki’s soft purrs, in the way I now pause more often — aware that even ordinary moments can be sacred.

Sometimes, healing isn’t loud. It arrives quietly, with fur, with laughter, with the courage to begin again.

Grateful For

• The gentle years with Millie — love in its purest form

• Luna and Miyuki — new joy, new noise, new life

• Friends who check in, unprompted

• Jan — my constant, through grief and rebuilding

• My mother’s steady love, even across oceans

• The peace that faith continues to give

What’s Coming in October

October feels like a soft beginning — a month to rebuild, to write, to breathe again.

We’ll celebrate World Stroke Day at work, reflect on stories that matter, and find new light in the changing season.

Already, the month has started beautifully —

💞 We celebrated our 6th anniversary on October 4th — a love built on patience, laughter, and shared dreams.

🎂 My mom’s birthday on October 6th — a reminder of how family anchors us, no matter how far we go.

October, I think, will be about renewal. About learning to live with both memory and momentum.

Dear reader,

Thank you for reading through the chapters that aren’t always easy to write. September was heavy, but it was also holy — a month that reminded me how fleeting life is, and yet how infinite love can be.

Here’s to carrying both — the ache and the awe.

To soft beginnings, steady faith, and the courage to keep showing up, no matter how fragile the heart feels.

To God be all the glory. Always.

With love,

ANJ ✨