Mide O

I’m a top writer in Short Story on @Medium ! To read more, visit and follow my profile (Ayomide Cecelia Odunlami) @Ayomide.C.O" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@Ayomide.C.O medium.com/tag/short-stor…

“Don’t buy a car, it’s a depreciating asset.” Brother, I myself am a depreciating asset. I won’t be here forever. Not everything has to be optimized for returns, some things are just meant to be enjoyed while we’re here.

When I was a single mom, my car was breaking down, I needed to pay preschool tuition for my daughter so I could work, and I needed groceries. I had enough money in my account EITHER to fix my car OR to pay preschool tuition. If I bought groceries I wouldn't have enough for either thing. As we drove home from work I pulled into the Vons shopping center by our home and just sat in the car, half-praying and half-stressing about buying groceries and what to do about my bills on Monday if I did buy them. My kids were in the backseat and as I sat there sort of frozen with anxiety my son, who was 7, started saying, "MOM. MOM! There is something in the seat POKING ME. MOM!" and then he started yelling "WHY IS THERE MONEY IN THE CAR?" I'm not kidding. The kid was yelling -- I snapped out of my brain fog and turned around from the driver's seat to see what he was yelling about. He was holding an envelope stuffed with cash. For some reason he thought "robbers" had hid money in our car and were coming back for it. LOL I love little kid assumptions. Anyway, the cash amounted to exactly what I needed to get my car fixed, with enough left over for a week's worth of groceries. I sort of felt scared walking into the store to shop. I had no idea where the money had come from. In a daze, I got yogurt, chicken, milk, and some produce. I had a little money left over for whatever else we might need later in the week. I paid and drove home, and tried to explain to my kids why I kept crying and that, though I didn't understand it, God had heard my prayers. Later we figured it out and I got a friend who lived 10 hours away to confess: about 6 months earlier she'd come to visit us. She had a strong impression she believed was from the Lord that she needed to give me a certain amount of money. But it was money I didn't need to spend right then. So she put it in an envelope and stuck it in the back pocket of my driver's seat and prayed that God would allow me to find it when I most needed to spend it. It sat there for 6 months until that day in the parking lot when, inexplicably, it started to "poke" my son's foot in a way he couldn't ignore and he found it. I have so many stories like this from times of desperate need. I don't know why I'm ever afraid. I am sometimes. I am afraid about things. But with memories like this, I shouldn't be. Thank you for sharing this video, Melissa. It's lovely. And it reminding me of my own stories of unexpected blessing.

one of the deepest, possibly most insidious, challenges that people often bring into therapy or psychiatric treatment is shame here is my pro tip, developed over a decade of experience the one quality that reliably, clearly, and, almost always unlocks shame, is playfulness

The reason a lot of moms don’t do this is they understand one fundamental thing, you are not leaving your most precious thing in the world with a person that has shown you they can hate you more than they love them. .

shoutout to me in 5 years. i bet she’s doing amazing and i am rooting for her

you literally just have to get really good at continuing

One thing I I have learned is that a lot of Nigerians don’t tie their struggles to the dysfunctional system in Nigeria, they think it’s the devil or something

I’m in love with this sentence: “It's not hard, it's just new.”

The cabbage man tweeting from his burner account:

The biggest skill you can develop is the ability to reset fast. Bad conversation? Move on. Bad day? Start fresh tomorrow. Missed workout? Hit it the next day. Poor decision? Learn and adjust. You can't control what happens to you, but you control how long you let it affect you.

Finding out that Asari Dokubo’s real name is Melford Goodhead Jr is frying me.

Respectfully ❤️

Everybody realised they are too broke for a world war so they just decided to quit midway.

I just found out that Anne Hathaway optioned the rights to a book about a modern tradwife influencer who wakes up in 1855 and has to live the life that she’s been selling to her followers online. I am SCREAMING

See the way Three Crowns casually calls themself “milk” despite labeling as Instant filled milk powder upfront ? That’s how all of them have subtly implied that they are milk for years through their advertisements. But you people are being disingenuous just to be contrarian

Corporate culture: Be proactive!” Also corporate: “Why did you take initiative without looping in 37 people first?”

My contradiction exists in the gap between my two most sincere desires: to be Puckish and elusively witty, and to be revered à la Old Testament

Before using that spray in your toilet, watch this video. Because wrong use can give you infection.

When I started working in the bank, my parents lived in Alakuko, so I used to commute from home every day. I would wake up as early as 3am, leave the house before 5am, and sometimes get home by 12am if there was traffic… This particular day, one of my colleagues cooked beans… if you’re a banker, you’ll understand that kind of “beans” 😂 the type that everybody in the branch must eat from. It was a shortage of 500k, so we had to rally around because our BOM insisted the money must be cleared. That kept me very late at work, and I couldn’t travel back to Alakuko that night. I took a bus to Obalende, my plan was to look for a church to sleep in… one thing my mum always told us is that if we are stranded, we should look for a church for shelter. I walked around Obalende and luckily, I saw a white garment church (C&S). I entered and greeted them, but the pastor said they had received a message earlier in the week not to accept any stranger into the church. I left… Then I saw a small bus outside the church, so I entered and sat there because at that point, I didn’t know what else to do. I was even thinking of getting a hotel when a boy came out… he looked about 23–25. He was the son of the woman from the church. He came outside and told me to sneak in. He and his mum took me to a room called ile abo and offered me a net and a mat. That was how I slept there… although I couldn’t sleep till daybreak because I was scared 😔 In the morning, he had already gotten me a new toothbrush. I also got a new dress and changed into it. We exchanged numbers and became very close. He was like a brother to me… That same month, when I got my salary, I bought 5 white garment materials for them. One day, I went to work as usual, and one of my customers mentioned he was looking for a receptionist. I asked for the pay and told him I had a brother who just graduated. He gave me his email address and asked him to send him an email and mention my name. I couldn’t even wait till after work… I called him during my break. He prepared his CV and sent it immediately. He went for the interview a week later and got the job… the pay was 180k for a start That same customer later relocated to the USA in 2024, but before he left, he referred him for an accountant role in one of the big companies on the island. He said my brother was a great guy and he could vouch for him. Today, he’s doing so well for himself, taking care of his family… they no longer live in church anymore 🥹 When I was travelling, he sent me 300k as his own support. There’s no week we don’t FaceTime… We spoke last night when he asked if he should relocate to Germany or the UK for his master’s… he got admission in both countries. I know he’s going to do great things. Anyways, that call was the reason I remembered this story… and I thought to share ❤️ You really never know how far a small act of kindness can go ❤️