love – Mimi's Thoughts

Mimi… Davi style

‎I can’t skip a Davi video. I think it’s because he’s very clear about his feelings. I admire that he says what most of us only think. Davi is a social media content creator. His full name is Davide De Pierro. He gained millions of followers on tiktok and instagram by making short relatable videos about relationships, dating, getting older, feelings, family and like I said before, things most of us can’t say out loud.

‎This evening, I came across one of his videos and it made me think about an incident at work and how it made me feel. My thoughts spiraled to many of my characteristics and I decided to give myself an honest open expression of who I really am. I am writing it Davi style and I may just go ahead and read it out loud on Reading with Emaistace on Spotify.

‎Here we go:

‎I like people. I genuinely do.I enjoy conversations, laughter, company, good banter, shared experiences and the kind of friendships where you can sit together and talk about absolutely nothing and everything.

‎But please, in moderation.

‎I am not the person who needs to be around people every waking moment. I can enjoy your company immensely today and still have absolutely no desire to see you tomorrow.

‎And please don’t take that personally.

‎I was friendly with you yesterday. That may cover the next three months.

‎I love my own company. In fact, I have so many things that interest and entertain me that sometimes I don’t have enough time to do all the things I enjoy when I’m alone. I can read, write, think, journal, watch something, listen to something, create something, learn something, or simply sit quietly and be perfectly content.

‎I don’t get bored easily. I actually need solitude.

‎Sometimes, after being around people for a while, I feel an almost physical need to withdraw. Its not because I am angry or someone necessarily did anything wrong… and it’s definitely not because I suddenly dislike everybody. I just need to return to myself.

‎I can be extremely warm with people, but warmth should never be mistaken for availability. If I become friendly with you, please don’t immediately assume that we’ve entered a daily-access friendship arrangement.

‎We haven’t. I can love you and still not call you every day. I can enjoy talking to you and still ignore my phone for hours.

‎I can care deeply about you and still need you to leave me alone.

‎And I need people to understand that those things can exist simultaneously.

‎I don’t like forced closeness. I don’t like people who demand access to me simply because I’ve been kind to them. I don’t like relationships where friendliness suddenly becomes an obligation.

‎I also don’t like disrespect. That one is particularly important. I can overlook many things. I can be patient. I can give people room to be human. I don’t expect perfection from anyone. But disrespect? No.

‎Once I feel deliberately disrespected, something changes.

‎I don’t necessarily need to shout. I don’t need to fight. I don’t need to make a dramatic announcement. Sometimes I simply withdraw.And when I withdraw, please understand that I am not necessarily waiting for you to chase me.Sometimes I’ve simply made a decision.

‎I value sincerity. I value loyalty. I value people who can communicate without manipulation, who can disagree without becoming disrespectful, and who understand that boundaries are not rejection.

‎I don’t like unnecessary drama. I don’t like being pressured. I don’t like being emotionally blackmailed. I don’t like people who mistake kindness for weakness.

‎And I don’t like people who assume that because I am capable of giving a lot, I should always be willing to give a lot.

‎I am generous with my time, my ideas, my attention and my affection, but I choose where those things go.

‎ I am also independent.

‎I don’t need constant reassurance that people like me. I don’t need to be included in everything. I don’t need to be in every conversation, every outing, every gathering or every person’s business.

‎Sometimes I actually prefer being left out.

‎Oh, and I am observant, too. I notice changes in people’s behaviour. I notice the tone. I notice inconsistencies. I notice when energy shifts. I may not react immediately, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t notice.

‎ I’m a mix of many things that some may call weird…

‎I am capable of being deeply affectionate without being clingy. I can love people fiercely and still enjoy being alone. I can be social and still be private.I can be friendly and still have boundaries…And my boundaries are not an invitation for negotiation.

This is who I am

‎

Mother

What are you doing this evening?

Sitting beside my mother,

I’m doing the best I can.

But I’m not sure if it’s enough.

What do I know?

I’m not a medical personnel,

But they say all mothers become doctors somehow…

maybe I’m one now.

This evening, I’m looking at my mother

I’ve never seen her like this.

God, please make her well.

Even my mother can’t believe…this evening.

New Role

“God bless the godmother”. This is how my husband’s friend Adole aka Motion greets me. He accords me a certain level of respect and I actually like it.

The thing is, I have never actually been specifically assigned the role of godmother…till today.

Today, Judith asked me to be godmother to her twin girls who were born in January 2025, and I accepted, gladly. I went with Judith and her husband as they took Atinger Amana and Shiiseer Anaya to be christened, and I took up my new role as godmother.

Judith is like a younger sister to me and has been a part of my life for almost ten years.

I don’t take this new role lightly, and I hope to live my every word I professed today.

The day they were born vs the day they were baptized

Little pieces of Happiness

My friend Nguwa sent me these words in a picture, I decided to transcribe them and share them here. I searched for the author so that I could give them the credit but I wasn’t lucky.

To whoever wrote them, thank you. They are beautiful.

A big part of happiness lies in feeling genuinely excited—excited about the little things. Like making a cup of coffee and really savoring it. Like meeting a friend who feels like home. Like looking forward to the next episode of a show that makes you smile. It’s about saving for something special and finally holding it in your hands. Watching a sunset that reminds you that endings, too, can be beautiful.

It’s about traveling and discovering new sides of yourself. About falling in love, even if it’s just for a moment. Finishing a book that lingers with you long after the last page. Hearing a song that stirs up old, forgotten memories. Laughing unexpectedly, from a place deep inside.

True happiness doesn’t always come from big achievements. It lives in the quiet, ordinary moments—if only we choose to notice them.

To Nguwa, thank you for sharing these words with me and for the coffee, music, laughter and other moments we share together.

Sarah

Dear Sarah Yahaya

I don’t know where you are.

I hope you see this someday.

The last time I saw you was when we left our secondary school in 1999. 26 years ago…but today I think of you.

I flash back to the days when you would tell us, “it’s more blessed to give than receive”. You said it jokingly. And we repeated it jokingly too.

Today, I gave and I felt so happy.

My dad once made the same statement my neighbour just made; “You give more than necessary”.

I think I feel happy when I give.

Today I want to appreciate Sarah Yahaya. Maybe I was born this way, maybe you influenced me. Either way, I agree… I feel blessed when I give.

Thank you Sarah

Love over Hate

“And on the Night He Was Betrayed”… The Weight of Those Words.

I’ve heard those words my entire life, I heard them every week when I was a child until I was in my twenties, when I stepped away from the Catholic church. I still hear them whenever I crave for and/or when I attend mass these days. I never gave it much thought…but today it’s all I can think about.

These words are a solemn preface to the Last Supper, a moment suspended in both holiness and heartbreak. They are not just a timestamp in the Passion narrative, they are a portal into the deepest paradoxes of love, trust, and sacrifice.

What strikes me most about this phrase is its quiet placement at the threshold of what should have been a sacred gathering… a final meal with trusted friends. Instead, it begins with betrayal. Jesus, fully aware of what was coming, did not flinch or flee. He did not storm out or denounce Judas publicly. He stayed. He served. He broke bread…with Judas

There is something deeply human and painfully divine about choosing to love even as you’re being hurt.

Many of us know betrayal… from friends, family, systems, even from within ourselves. It makes you want to recoil, to shield your heart. But “on the night he was betrayed,” Jesus chose vulnerability. He chose generosity. He gave thanks. It wasn’t an act of denial, but defiance against bitterness. He redefined the moment… not as the night he was victimized, but as the night he offered himself for the world.

That is power. Not a loud performative power…but quiet, enduring power that transforms pain into purpose. Hmmmm.

When betrayal finds its way into our lives…and it will…we are faced with a choice. We may not be called to break literal bread or pour out wine, but we are constantly invited to decide: Will this moment define me, or will I redefine it?

“And on the night he was betrayed” isn’t a phrase frozen in ancient liturgy. It is a rhythm in the heart of anyone who has ever chosen courage over revenge, love over hate, faith over despair.

So the next time you hear those words; “and on the night he was betrayed”, pause. Let them settle in your chest. Consider the love that moves toward pain with open hands. Consider the strength it takes to stay present in the breaking, and the hope that even betrayal can be the backdrop for something sacred.

Maybe the true power of that night wasn’t in what was done to him, but in what he did anyway.

Self love vs selfish

How selfish is self love?

I think it’s been over a year since my sister Angela and I discussed this.

We agreed that some people had taken self love too far and then we worried about how much it deviated from what God intended.

If we love ourselves and ignore the rest of the world then that might be too selfish.

…but sometimes you just have to look out for yourself… You have to care for yourself to be able to care for others.

After all, the greatest commandment is centered around you.

If you don’t love yourself, how can you love your neighbor?

So the question is, where’s the line? And how do you know when you’ve crossed it?

That line that tells you that you are being a little or a lot more selfish that you should.

That line that shows you that you just ignored a neighbor that may have needed you.

I’m literally asking here.

Risky Christmas

What’s the best surprise you have ever received?

A little over a decade ago, I worked for a private company in Lagos…for 3 years.

We didn’t get to take Christmas breaks… Especially not the finance unit… We worked till the 23rd.

I was lucky my first year there, I had been given a few days off so I went home for Christmas without any hassle.

The next year…I wasn’t so lucky.

I left for my hometown on the 24th day of December. Just a day before Christmas. Lagos is over 700 kilometers from my home town. It takes at least 12 hours to close that gap.

We had a couple of unplanned stops and so many bad roads on our way…and so by the time it was midnight… Now Christmas day, I found myself in a town, 109 kilometres from my hometown and a driver who wasn’t willing to go any further.

To be fair to the driver, he had been driving since 6am of the 24th and the road ahead was known to be dangerous at night.

Every passenger except myself somehow found their way to who-knows-where and I was left in the motor park where we had stopped…just me and a few other bus drivers.

I was offered a tiny room to wait in till sunrise. I was scared and unhappy but I didn’t have much of a choice.

I called my family and then my boyfriend…they were as worried as I was.

I brought out a magazine from my luggage and began to read…I hadn’t planned to close an eye lid that night.

At 2:05am my phone rang, it was my boyfriend. He wanted to know the location of the park.

He had driven to get me. He said couldn’t rest knowing I was alone somewhere in a strange place at night.

I was speehless.

He had taken a risk. A beautiful and romantic risk…and I don’t think I will ever forget.

We got to my home town a little after 4am.

It was the best Christmas gift/surprise.

Close

Where are you?

I’m in Kampala.

When will you be back to Mubende?

In a couple of days. Why did you ask?

I just wanted to know if you were in town.

Okay… Do you want to see me?

No, not necessarily.

So what does it matter if I’m in town or not? It’s not like we ever get to see each other anyway.

I just feel better when I know you are in the same city as me.

Eight

My first love

How my heart sings when I hear your name

But for my June bug, it’s just you…

…and now know I could love two

No other moon could touch my heart like you do

My heart leaps to see you again

Please be good again this season

Welcome my August