Stories for Grown-Ups

My story today is centered around the idea that many people make their permanent homes in places where most people only vacation. There were never any curtains here. Something about the beach air made people forget that sunlight could be blocked out and that morning would come anyway. Where do you like to go to get away from it all? Tell me in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today is about the way we can put our trust in perfect strangers - like our hair stylists. Maralyn insisted on maintaining the often-seen short spiky hairdo that older woman gravitated toward when they give up. She resisted Hannah’s efforts to soften her face with another style. Hannah regretted missing out on the chance to dye all those spikes Barbie pink. What is it about certain strangers that makes us feel like we can trust them? Tell me in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today revolves around something most of us thoroughly enjoy – sleep. But what if you didn't need to sleep anymore. How would you spend that extra time in your day? Stella had started a late-night crafting group and she kept sending me pictures of hip homemade wreaths, hand-stamped stationary and throw pillows with inappropriate phrases stitched on them. Her pictures came at all hours of the night and there were clusters of them waiting for my attention in the morning. What did you dream of last night? Tell me in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today echoes in silence - from children, from heartbeats and from the things that we do not say to the people we love. At pickup time my sister is late. Or rather she is always late for our agreed-upon pickup time, but since she is consistently late, maybe she is actually on time. She looks tired despite the day off, so we do not talk. What are you putting off saying to the people you love? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today is built around the idea of strangers on the bus. The shared intimacy of taking a long trip together can take its toll on people - both for the good and the bad: A thin young man in his mid-20s flopped down next to Robyn and immediately assumed the wide-legged spread all men assume while seated. Robyn watched him under lowered lids: The wider the parting of the legs, the more space he was trying to claim for himself. Being fat and taking up more space was one thing, spreading out your knees to take over an unrealistic amount of real estate for your crotch was another. Robyn thought some guys were really only one evolutionary step above peeing on their territory. Listen to Bus People and tell me about the worst bus trip you've ever taken. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today is set in the same way all parents tell stories to their children: With certain details omitted. What you want your children to know and what actually happened are two completely separate stories: Of course, there is a flip side to this story: One of perpetual light in which the birthrate dropped a bit and people were less likely to have one-night stands when faced with a potential lover in the bright accusing light of day outside a bar. But I’ve never met someone from the opposite side of the world to tell me that story. And I really don’t want to tell my children about one-night stands so close to bedtime. Sex education should take place in the daylight. Listen to Once Upon a Midnight Summer and tell me what you would change about your life if it was suddenly left in darkness. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

Sometimes a story buzzes around in my head for a while before I am able to get it right — this is certainly the case with my story for today. I like to ask people what their first memories are of. For some people it's just a fleeting impression and for others it is in amazing clarity with lots of details. Christine’s first memory was a flood of orange juice. The cascading fall of it as it slipped out of her grasp and spread into a large puddle in front of the fridge, the pulpy bits lodging themselves between her toes. Why mom kept it in that glass pitcher, she never thought to ask. Her mother was the one who found Christine standing in the juice puddle, and she lifted her onto the sink counter to wash her ankles and toes with warm water. Listen to A Brilliant Shade of Blue. And tell me what you would think about if you had the time to sit still with your own thoughts. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.

My story today is a little more personal than most of my others, because the mother in the story is based on my own mother — a woman I greatly respect, admire and love. Children retain so many memories of their parents, but only in the role of parents. So few of us get to know the person outside of the parental role — the coworker, the friend, the person they were before becoming a parent. My Mother was still waiting. Sitting at the kitchen table with a snack for us, or to take our wet jackets and umbrellas. Sometimes even in the same spot we had left her at breakfast. In my child’s mind she was always waiting for me there – her life at a standstill when I left the room. She is waiting now. For the rain to stop and her grandson to wake from his nap. And maybe even for me. Listen to: When It's Enough. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours.  

A familiar, soft buzzing noise is at the heart of my story. It's amazing how that little buzz/ping/beep has integrated into our days. There is the phantom buzz where you think you heard your phone, but aren't sure. And there is even the buzz check where you haven't heard a buzz in so long, you have to check your battery. But what if there was just silence? Imagine that your phone stopped talking to you. There was once a time when he had to corral people and demand they stack their phones in the center of the conference table just to keep their attention for the 15-minute meeting. He thought of how they would look now – a tower of empty boxes. Listen to: The Virus Is the Cure. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today focuses on the idea that we all have very different childhoods. But what if yours was so unusual, you had to hide it? In The Separated Life of Annie Good, we meet a woman who lies about the abnormality of her upbringing because the lie is easier to explain. Even to her boyfriend: In her defense, she had spent the first four weeks of their relationship believing it would never work out between them. He was, after all, a calculus major. During their first date he had tried to start conversations with her about social economics and politics before they were able to settle on classic cinema as a mutually satisfying topic. By the time she had realized her miscalculation on his viability as a long-term boyfriend and started believing in his potential, it seemed too late to delve into childhood issues. Abnormal is the new normal. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

In my story today, we take a look at the repercussions of our final words. Some people claim that if they could repeat their lives, they wouldn't change a thing. That can't be true — just think of all the heartache and pain that you could save yourself if you could relive your life. But what if you truly couldn't make any changes? How would you feel about being stuck in an endless loop of living and déjà vu and memories? The next afternoon...he saw the few words he had scribbled on the crinkly brown paper bag: Your life is a repeat and you have to go through it all again. You’re not crazy, Gerald. Just drunk. Gerald sat there on the floor, holding the cracked words from his paper bag confession and wondering about the sanity of a drunken mind. Drunks were always honest, he thought, although they might not always make sense. And it was this reasoning that lead Gerald to believe himself. Enjoy today's story: The Repetition of an Unlived Life. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is a bit darker than usual. Today's story, After the Kidnapping, is a single-person perspective from a woman trying to deal with a traumatic event in her life, but it's hard for her to keep all her thoughts straight. I stole the neighbor’s cat on the second move. He was a friendly, scrawny guy who sat on the porch of my parent’s house always in the sunshine. He spent all his days outside of his own home — three doors down from my parents — it was filled with the barking of little yappy dogs. It's a jumble of emotions, but a story that takes surprisingly few words to tell. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today includes a little motherly advice. We are all familiar with motherly advice — that nagging (and usually correct) voice in our heads. In today's story — I Should Have Peed Before I Left — we hear advice on common issues, like cleaning: Alyssa was standing naked in her kitchen admiring her clean floors. She had mopped them when she first moved in, but this was her first real chance to give them a thorough scrubbing. Alyssa had woken earlier than usual that Sunday, and had scoured her new apartment. As the faux tile floor dried, Alyssa walked into her beige-on-white bathroom to freshen up before putting her clothes back on. The wisdom of our parents spans across all topics, including love. We just have to learn to listen. Tell me your favorite bit of motherly advice in the comments section. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

As my story today shows, the edge of something can be razor sharp or a bit blurred at times. But, no matter the case, you have to be careful when approaching it. In Growing Up Along the Edge, the narrator takes a look back at the things that made his hometown special and his childhood seem a little ominous. In my later years, I had passed along my tales of the edge to my own children – all mature stories venturing into middle age: Of the time I lost my father’s flashlight to its bottomless depths. Or the day the wind was so strong it lifted the blackness over the edge and it rolled over our ankles in scorching waves. Of my last visit, when I celebrated my 21st birthday with a drink by its side. Think back to what your childhood memories are like in your town. Anything unusual you'd like to share? Tell me in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes  

My story today — Malibu Barbie; Roller Skates; Concert Tickets; Fuzzy Socks and Tulips on a Rainy Day — is a story about lists. We all keep those secret lists in our heads: Of things we've done, things we'd like to do, the things we have to do and all the things we are afraid to try. Some lists are easy to share, but other times it's hard to share those secrets — even with the people who know us best. I almost told her then. About Michael. About 14 months of my life wasted. About the boxes in the basement that held all my things. His things. Our things. Instead, I said, “What’s really wrong, Betty?” What is your top 5 list of things you want the world to know about you? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today has a happy ending. A lot of my storytelling podcast posts don't have a happy ending. I think that is part of the problem with stories — outside of certain genres (romance novels, fairy tales), most stories don't have a happy ending. In Waking up with Strangers, however, the listener can be assured a happy ending — it may just be the rest of the story that they have a problem with. Do you like happy endings to stories? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today has an unusual title, but stay with me. This storytelling podcast explores that cast of background characters that seem to follow people in their daily lives. You see the same faces everywhere — on your morning commute, in line at the supermarket or even just walking along the street. In Woman with Eggs on Bus, we find that the background characters can lead some of the most interesting lives. It occurs to Harriet that if she should die, she should probably leave her parents a note about the small plastic gnomes in the bottom drawer of her kitchen. The drawer wasn’t always devoted to gnomes – at one point it contained pots and pans. But then there was that Black Friday six years ago where she was trolling an online auction site and found a gross of them for sale. Maybe this story will inspire you to reach out to those near strangers and say hello. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today deals with memories. We all know that the older we get, the more our memories fail us: First kisses, the ways we spent our summer vacations and even being ticklish fade away with time. But what if your memories aren't accurate to begin with? In today's storytelling podcast episode Memories of Being Ticklish on a Hot Summer's Day, a woman and her twin daughters have different ways of accessing the past and the present; each of them believes that their memories are the truth. As an adult, are you afraid of being ticklish? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is dedicated to the people who sit in a cube all day. Inter-office politics are hard to avoid, and for most office workers they are just a part of working life. In The Nine Types of People You Meet in Every Office, Ginger explains that it doesn't matter what type of job she does or the company that she works for (however odd it may be) — wherever she goes, she will always find the same personalities: There’s the gossip, the historian, the bully, the scavenger, the untethered balloon, the worry-wart, the newbie, the mentor and the crazy one. Learn how to navigate each of those people, and you’ll be fine. What types of office people have you met in your office? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is a bit more literary than usual. In Othello, jealousy drives the main characters to acts of deceit, betrayal and violence. At the most extreme end of the spectrum, Iago is a man no one wants to become. In The End of Jealousy, Hannah regards Iago and the other characters as a pipe dream. She teaches the words of Othello over and over again, but can't relate to the emotion behind them - jealousy is an emotion that only exists on paper. Tomorrow her students will face the death of Desdemona and, eventually, of Othello, too. Hannah will do her best to answer their questions about motives, but she will end the day with the same bittersweet sense of triumph and failure as she does every year. In two days’ time, her students will be happy to return to reading Walden, or at least as happy as her students are to be reading anything, and Hannah will return her beloved copy of Othello to her nightstand shelf at home. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is a bit darker than my usual tales, but it all comes down to choice. Drinking in the Daylight details a world where women can choose to be mothers or have careers, but not both. Faced with that option, three generations of women explore that major decision in their lives. It's hard enough for a woman to make the choice between career and family — never mind making it while you are still a teenager. A woman didn’t drink when her children were home. The mothers who reached for their wine when they still had toddlers underfoot were shunned at social gatherings. When all the children reached the ripe old age of five and were safely at school for the day, that was when the liquor cabinet locks were broken open. Listen to the story and tell me what you would choose in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is an oldie, but a goodie. Technical Witch Craft first appeared in print in 2000, but I cleaned it up and expanded it a bit here as a fun story for Halloween. Writers and witches have the same problem: We are never done tinkering with our words —whether it is a spell or a short piece of fiction. Anyway, the story tells the lives of witches who do very normal things, like eat lunch in restaurants. (Hey, a witch has gotta eat, right?) But, they do let their supernatural sides shine as well. It was a dark night when we gathered that first time and giggled our way through mispronouncing the Latin words and trying to keep our ritual books open to the correct page. I had thought of that moment all week – of having true sisters. What is your favorite thing to dress up as for Halloween? Let me know in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today involves a pretty bad break-up. Most people can't help but bring their work home with them, and the narrator in The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend is no different. As he parts ways with his girlfriend, the book critic can't help but give her some advice on how to be a better character and a better writer overall. She had hooked him with her backstory: She was adopted as a teenager with the ambition to travel the world to write a novel about discovering hope in poverty-stricken villages. She balanced work and a full social calendar with her volunteering at the local animal shelter on weekends. But after investing months in their relationship, he was faced with her shame – that her character was destined to be static. It takes some close listening to find out what went wrong in their relationship, but the book critic eventually gets around to making his point. Tell me about your worst break-up in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is about morals...sort of. In Just, which is a morality tale for the 21st century, the listener gets to choose the fate of the main couple. But be forewarned before you listen: Just is full of betrayal — for everyone involved. (Also, there is a bit of office talk.) Each of them will toil away in an office, where they feel productive and small at the same time, where they trade office gossip and find structure to the unwieldy hours of the day. The type of jobs they do does not matter. They are just jobs. Listen to the story and leave your choice in the comments? Did you get the "right" answer? That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is about secret admirers. A secret admirer can crop up when we least expect it — even in a marriage. In today's story, Daniel learns that there are really three people in his marriage: Daniel, his wife Courtney and her Essentials Book. In His Wife's Secret Admirer, Daniel ponders the secret to his marriage's success in a world where so many relationships fall apart. I should buy her flowers, Daniel thinks. But this is a problem. Will he remember that he wants to buy her flowers by the time he gets out of the shower and to his phone? He starts to repeat it to himself: Buy wife flowers. Buy wife flowers. Buy wife flowers. Have you ever had a secret crush? If so, tell your story in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is about growing up and moving on. Women often forget who they are and begin measuring life by the events of their children. In Afternoons in the Park, a young mother realizes her own childhood is sitting in a box at the bottom of her closet and her closest friend was lost to her a long time ago. But then there was the wedding, the job changes, the big move and the smaller moves in between. And then pregnancy, childbirth and rediscovering holidays. Losing myself a bit in the process, or maybe just becoming someone new who I didn’t recognize yet. Excuses, all of them. Some a bit more valid than others. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

My story today is about the longstanding battle that goes on in so many homes. Every day, men and woman battled for home territory with their personal knickknacks. In The Weight of Our Objects, Christina thinks of the house as "hers," except for the contents of Edgar's rooms — those are definitely "his." She gave him his room and kept out of it, decorating the rest of their home in mottled greens and soft blues. She kept out of his den, respecting his privacy – never entering to clean or nag about chores or pry. Never asking him about why he locked the door. Do you have a room of your own in your house? Tell me about it in the comments. That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. subscribe to us on iTunes

The title of my story for you today doesn't tell the whole picture. Boring features a woman who doesn't know how to make friends, so she goes about the process in a more unconventional manner. It was in the third shop that I saw her — the woman in the red trench coat. I had been examining a particularly ugly handcrafted incense burner. It was in the shape of a swan (I think)... That’s my story. Tell me one of yours. What do you do to fight boredom? subscribe to us on iTunes

Today, I'd like to share my story, Hugging Strangers. This tale is about a woman suffering from an uncertain case of mistaken identity. The incident brings on a rather sudden case of guilt during a remarkable windy lunch break. Sometimes we need that reassuring touch — even from a stranger — to know that the world is unfair, but at the end of the day, we're going to make it. That's my story. Tell me one of yours. Leave me a note in the comments: When is the last time you got a nice touch from a stranger? subscribe to us on iTunes