Hey Lil Dani,
Let’s take you back.
Do you remember the sound of grease popping in Grandma’s kitchen?
Do you remember watching Grandma Wilma season chicken without measuring a thing? A little of this. A little of that. Somehow, always enough.
Yeah, you do.
Do you remember your aunties talking, laughing, and gossiping in the background?
Yep, you do.
Neighbors fixin plates. Grandpa was praying over us all. Somebody asks, “Did you eat?” Somebody was making sure everybody had something.
And let’s be honest… somebody was also watching that last piece of chicken.
Hmm. That was good.
You did not know it then, but you were learning more than how to fry chicken.
You were learning that food could feel like comfort.
Like community. Like safety. Like home.
And baby girl, you carried that with you.
WHEW. Pause. Breathe. Shift.
Have you ever smelled something cooking and suddenly felt like a kid again?
That is because food does not just live in our stomachs.
Sometimes, food lives in our memories.
We return to what once made us feel safe.
Sometimes that is a song.
Sometimes that is a person.
Sometimes that is a place.
Sometimes that is a plate.
Maybe food was never just food.
Maybe it was how we celebrated.
How we connected.
How we comforted ourselves after hard days.
How we loved on people when words did not come easily.
And sometimes, what we call a craving is really a memory asking to be held.
That does not mean we should feel guilty.
It means we should get curious.
Because sometimes we are not just hungry for food.
Sometimes we are hungry for rest.
For peace. For softness. For connection.
For something steady in the middle of life constantly life-ing.
There is a difference between being full and being nourished. At IIN, I learned about primary food and secondary food.
Secondary food is what is on the plate.
Primary food is everything else that feeds us: love, rest, purpose, peace, connection, joy, and feeling safe in our own lives.
And sometimes, the body keeps reaching for secondary food when the soul is asking for primary food.
This week, pause for a moment and ask yourself:
What have I really been hungry for lately?
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Hi, I’m Dr. Dani J. Your homegirl next door who’s done the work and has some stuff to share with you.
Welcome!
About Whew Wednesday
A midweek return to yourself. A pause in the middle of life constantly life-ing. A space for honest reflection, real conversations, and the journey back to wholeness.
Here, we explore the things feeding us beyond the plate: rest, relationships, peace, purpose, softness, connection, and the memories we carry.
No perfection. No pretending. No pressure. Just Whew Wednesday.
