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What a Time in Our Lives: When Nostalgia Takes You Home

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This afternoon, I found myself sitting in nostalgia. Not the kind of nostalgia where you deliberately search for old photographs or put on a playlist titled “Songs That Will Make You Cry About Your Childhood.” No. This one found me. I was simply sitting there, minding my own business, when I started listening to urban Grooves from back in Zimbabwe, and then Decibel came on. Suddenly, there I was, transported. Ruva rangu dai waiziva… my flower, if you only knew. And honestly, I don’t know what happened after that because I had already left the room. My body was still wherever I was sitting, but my mind had travelled all the way back to my grandfather’s house. I could see our dining-sitting room in my mind so clearly. I could hear my big brothers playing music while my sisters were doing their hair, probably taking turns with a comb, some hair grease and whatever hairstyle was fashionable at the time. There was noise everywhere. Someone was laughing. Someone was shouting. Someone was ask...
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The Wellness We Forget: Learning to Care for Ourselves

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August is a month filled with different health, social and cultural awareness observances. From National Immunization Awareness Month and National Black Business Month to Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, the month gives us many reasons to pause and think about the different aspects of our lives and communities that deserve greater attention. But today on Wander and Weave, I want to talk about something that is deeply personal to all of us: wellness. August is recognised as National Wellness Month, a time dedicated to encouraging self-care, stress management and healthy lifestyle habits. At first glance, wellness can sound like another one of those trendy words we hear everywhere. We see beautiful social media posts about morning routines, green smoothies, expensive skincare, gym memberships, candles, retreats and quiet weekends away. Sometimes wellness can almost look like a luxury reserved for people who have the money and time to create a perfectly curated life. But wellness i...
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Dominique Middlemas: Creating With Purpose, Walking With Faith

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There are some creatives who remind you that creativity is not simply about making beautiful things. It is about using what has been placed in your hands to make the world a little brighter, to tell stories, to create connection, and sometimes, to remind someone else of who they are. This week on Wander and Weave, I am shining a light on one such creative: Dominique Middlemas, a Zimbabwean digital creator, model, fondant and cake artist, entrepreneur, and the founder of Godfidently Women, a faith-based platform created to empower women to walk in love, trust, and confidence in God. But behind all these titles is simply a woman who loves creating things that bring people joy. For Dominique, creativity has always felt like more than a talent. It is a gift from God, and one she believes should be used to encourage others. Her creative journey, however, has not been a perfectly mapped-out road. It has been filled with twists, uncertainty, financial challenges, loss, and seasons where she q...
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Dear Diary, I’m Another Year Older… and Honestly, God Has Been Good

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Dear Diary, So… my birthday was on the 8th of August. Yes, I know. This birthday reflection is a little late. 😂 But honestly, I think I needed a few days to sit with everything before attempting to put this particular year into words. There is something about birthdays that makes me pause. I don’t just think about the number I am turning, but about the woman I have been, the woman I am becoming, the people who have walked with me, the doors God has opened, the ones He has closed, and all the little moments in between that somehow make up a whole year of living. And what a year it has been. If I had to describe my last year in one sentence, I would probably say: God really said, “Let me show you what I can do.” There were wins. There were losses. There were moments that made me laugh until my stomach hurt and moments that made me sit quietly and wonder what on earth I was doing. There were beautiful surprises, new beginnings, lessons I did not ask for, and blessings I certainly did not...
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Japan's Best-Kept Travel Secret Is in the Drink Aisle

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The Japanese Convenience Store Survival Guide: Drinks That Can Save Your Trip One of the first things that fascinated me after moving to Japan wasn't the temples, the trains, or even the famous vending machines, it was the convenience stores. At first glance, they look like ordinary convenience stores. You walk into a 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, or Lawson expecting snacks, coffee, and maybe an umbrella if it suddenly starts raining. But spend enough time browsing the drink aisle, and you'll realize Japan's konbini are quietly offering something much more impressive. They're miniature survival kits disguised as neighbourhood shops. Somewhere between the bottled teas and canned coffees are rows of mysterious little bottles with bold Japanese writing, bright colours, gold caps, and promises that seem almost too good to be true. They claim to help with hangovers, jet lag, dehydration, bloating, exhaustion, indigestion, and even sleep. As someone who has lived in Japan, I've l...
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The Women Who Became Home: A National Girlfriends Day Reflection

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Yesterday, the 1st of August, was National Girlfriends Day. While social media was filled with beautiful photos, appreciation posts, inside jokes, and screenshots of conversations that probably should have remained private (we all have that one friend who believes nothing is confidential if it's funny enough), I found myself smiling quietly and reflecting on the women who have walked beside me through the different seasons of my life. Friendship has not always come naturally to me. I don't think I was one of those girls who effortlessly collected best friends wherever she went. You know the type. The ones who still have their kindergarten best friend, their primary school best friend, their high school squad, and somehow everyone still meets up every December wearing matching outfits. That wasn't my story. My younger years were filled with friendships that were pleasant but often temporary. We laughed together, shared classrooms, borrowed pens, exchanged secrets we swore wo...
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The Weight of What We Hold: Learning Not to Build My Happiness on Things That Can Leave

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There was a time when I believed happiness had an address, and somehow it was always outside of me. Sometimes it lived in another person's smile. Sometimes it rested in a friendship that made me feel seen. Other times it hid inside a relationship, a dream, a possession, a title, or even a version of my life that I desperately wanted to protect. I convinced myself that as long as I held on tightly enough, I would never have to experience the emptiness of losing it. But life has a way of reminding us that everything we grip too tightly eventually teaches us about letting go. I know this because I have lived it. I have been the woman whose entire emotional world revolved around people. When someone drifted away, changed, disappointed me, or simply chose a different path, it felt as though a piece of me had been ripped away with them. I wasn't just mourning their absence; I was mourning the version of myself that only existed when they were around. My world would crumble. I would c...
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