The Jewelry Box (Encore)

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Speaker 2 These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save.

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Speaker 1 The holidays can be a lot, can't they?

Speaker 1 For business owners especially, this time of year can go from cozy to chaotic. Fast.

Speaker 1 I remember my first holiday rush. I was so worried something would break.
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Speaker 1 AI tools to help write product descriptions and headlines, and built-in marketing support so your voice doesn't get lost in the noise.

Speaker 1 Plus, you can relax, knowing Shopify's award-winning customer service is there 24-7 if anything comes up. So make this Black Friday one to remember.

Speaker 1 Sign up for your free trial today at shopify.com/slash nothingmuch.

Speaker 1 That's shopify.com/slash nothing much.

Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 3 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 3 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read

Speaker 1 all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens.

Speaker 1 Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We are bringing you an encore episode tonight, meaning that this story originally aired at some point in the past. It could have been recorded with different equipment in a different location.

Speaker 1 And since I'm a person and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.

Speaker 1 But the stories are always soothing and family-friendly. And our wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.

Speaker 3 Let me say a little about how to use this podcast.

Speaker 3 Our minds are busy.

Speaker 3 Now, maybe more than ever.

Speaker 3 And a busy mind can keep you up all night.

Speaker 3 So let this story that I'm about to tell you become a resting place for your mind.

Speaker 3 Once your mind settles, you will find sleep.

Speaker 3 I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 3 If you wake in the middle of the night,

Speaker 3 you can listen again,

Speaker 3 or just walk yourself back through any part of the story you remember.

Speaker 3 This will disrupt the wandering and get you back to sleep.

Speaker 3 This is brain training.

Speaker 3 So have a bit of patience if you are new to it.

Speaker 3 Over time, you will find you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Speaker 3 Our story tonight is called the jewelry box.

Speaker 3 And it's a story about an heirloom handed down through a family.

Speaker 3 It's also about a jeweled brooch pinned on the lapel of a jacket,

Speaker 3 spring sunlight,

Speaker 3 and some good advice for when things break.

Speaker 3 Now,

Speaker 3 it's time to set down anything you've been looking at or working on.

Speaker 3 Switch off the light and slide down into your sheets.

Speaker 3 Pull the blanket over your shoulder

Speaker 3 and feel how good it is to be safe in your bed.

Speaker 3 Let's all take a breath in through the nose

Speaker 3 and out through the mouth.

Speaker 3 Nice.

Speaker 3 One more.

Speaker 3 In

Speaker 3 and out.

Speaker 3 Good.

Speaker 3 The jewelry box

Speaker 3 on my dresser,

Speaker 3 beside the stack of books that are waiting to be read,

Speaker 3 and the framed photo of my sweetheart and me on one of our first dates,

Speaker 3 there's a jewelry box.

Speaker 3 It's made of dark walnut and lined with green velvet.

Speaker 3 That must have been a bright emerald when it was first fitted into place by my grandfather's hands,

Speaker 3 but has faded over the years

Speaker 3 into the soft green of reindeer moss.

Speaker 3 He crafted it many years ago for my grandmother,

Speaker 3 out in the workshop in his garage.

Speaker 3 It was a rare creation for him.

Speaker 3 He was mostly a fixer, a mender,

Speaker 3 who could step in when the furnace was on the fritz,

Speaker 3 or when the attic stairs were stuck.

Speaker 3 He'd stand with hands on hips

Speaker 3 and just look at the the problem for a while,

Speaker 3 picturing where the trouble was

Speaker 3 and how to sort it out.

Speaker 3 Then he'd slip a screwdriver from his shirt pocket and go to work.

Speaker 3 But for this box, he'd been starting from scratch,

Speaker 3 not mending, but creating.

Speaker 3 He'd sketched out the shape with a flat carpenter's pencil onto the pages of a steno notebook in the garage

Speaker 3 and gone looking for the right piece of wood.

Speaker 3 When he found it, he'd measured and cut and fitted the box together,

Speaker 3 the edges of the wood dovetailing like puzzle pieces.

Speaker 3 Then he'd divided the interior with thin slats

Speaker 3 and lined it all with green velvet.

Speaker 3 He'd let me watch as he created slots for grandma's rings,

Speaker 3 hooks to secure her necklaces,

Speaker 3 and a soft raised mound to loop her bracelets around.

Speaker 3 The top tray lifted out to reveal an open space underneath,

Speaker 3 inlaid with more velvet.

Speaker 3 The box was meant to be a surprise for her.

Speaker 3 And he'd asked me if I could keep a secret before he'd let me into the workshop.

Speaker 3 I'd kept my promise and got to be there on her birthday as she unwrapped it.

Speaker 3 I remember how quiet the room was

Speaker 3 as she ran her soft, creased hands

Speaker 3 over the smooth edges that he'd spent ages carefully sanding and shaping.

Speaker 3 She lifted the lid and looked down at the velvet,

Speaker 3 and then up at Grandpa, with such a bright, happy smile on her face

Speaker 3 that we all beamed back at her.

Speaker 3 She was a laugher, not a crier,

Speaker 3 and she laughed now,

Speaker 3 clapping her hands like a little girl,

Speaker 3 and leaning over to plant a kiss on Grandpa's cheek.

Speaker 3 The jewelry box had sat on her vanity table for the rest of her life,

Speaker 3 next to her tubes of lipstick and tiny precious bottles of perfume.

Speaker 3 I remember sitting on the edge of her bed,

Speaker 3 my bare feet swinging, as I watched her make herself up for a Saturday night out with grandpa.

Speaker 3 She'd picked out her favorite necklace

Speaker 3 and lifted the tray out to peruse her brooches.

Speaker 3 I nosily looked over her shoulder as she did

Speaker 3 and saw a few yellowed envelopes addressed to her in Grandpa's hand.

Speaker 3 She saw me looking and winked at me in the mirror.

Speaker 3 She still had their love letters.

Speaker 3 When the box came to me, I gratefully found I could still smell a bit of her perfume

Speaker 3 whenever I lifted the lid.

Speaker 3 Now it held my rings,

Speaker 3 my bracelets and necklaces.

Speaker 3 In the compartment underneath were my own love letters,

Speaker 3 the stubs of concert tickets,

Speaker 3 and one of Grandma's brooches.

Speaker 3 It was fragile, with a thin pin at its back that had been mended more than once.

Speaker 3 On its face was a collection of bright red stones, circled with gold in the shape of a ladybug.

Speaker 3 Her wings were dotted with glossy black jewels.

Speaker 3 I suspected none of them were real gems.

Speaker 3 They were probably polished glass, what they used to call paste.

Speaker 3 But they were precious to me.

Speaker 3 I was careful with what grandma had passed on to me.

Speaker 3 But I wasn't afraid to wear her brooch.

Speaker 3 I had her china, too, and used it nearly every day.

Speaker 3 Once, when we'd been drying dishes in her kitchen, and a slippery plate had slid out of my hands

Speaker 3 to crash into a million pieces on the black and white tiles of her floor.

Speaker 3 I turned a teary face up to her, and she caught my chin in her hand

Speaker 3 and kissed the tip of my nose, saying, Baby, it's a thing,

Speaker 3 not a person.

Speaker 3 It made me feel so unashamed

Speaker 3 and immediately realigned with what actually mattered.

Speaker 3 To this day,

Speaker 3 when something breaks, I stop and ask myself,

Speaker 3 is it a thing

Speaker 3 or a person?

Speaker 3 And like her, I can usually laugh instead of cry.

Speaker 3 I'd pinned her ladybug onto the lapel of my jacket today

Speaker 3 as I'd gotten ready to go out the door,

Speaker 3 just feeling the need to have her around me.

Speaker 3 When I'd stepped out of my apartment and into the narrow alleys of the oldest part of downtown,

Speaker 3 I stopped to look up at the way the spring sunlight shone on the tops of the buildings.

Speaker 3 Autumn sun is brassy

Speaker 3 in the best possible way,

Speaker 3 But spring sunlight is bright gold,

Speaker 3 and I was happy to need my sunglasses as I walked.

Speaker 3 At the corner shop, I stopped to buy a newspaper

Speaker 3 and a lemon muffin dotted with poppy seeds to tuck into my bag for later.

Speaker 3 The man who ran the shop had been sweeping the front steps when I came in,

Speaker 3 and his grandson stood proudly behind the counter, his chin just clearing the stacks of newspapers.

Speaker 3 He added up my purchases and with a serious face told me how much it would be.

Speaker 3 His grandfather smiled down at his broom as he swept.

Speaker 3 I handed over the money and waited until the change was counted counted back.

Speaker 3 I thanked the little boy and resisted the urge to wink or make a joke.

Speaker 3 I remembered how important it was when you were young

Speaker 3 and trying to seem grown up

Speaker 3 that you were taken seriously.

Speaker 3 We shouldn't forget what being young feels like,

Speaker 3 even when we are young no longer.

Speaker 3 On the street again,

Speaker 3 with grandma's ladybug on my shoulder, and the golden spring light making me squint,

Speaker 3 I headed for the park.

Speaker 3 The geese would be back,

Speaker 3 honking their news and splashing the cold lake water around their long black necks.

Speaker 3 I would find a bench,

Speaker 3 take my muffin from my bag,

Speaker 3 open my paper,

Speaker 3 and look for things to laugh about.

Speaker 3 The jewelry box

Speaker 3 on my dresser,

Speaker 3 beside the stack of books that are waiting to be read,

Speaker 3 and the framed photo of my sweetheart and me

Speaker 3 on one of our first dates.

Speaker 3 There's a jewelry box.

Speaker 3 It's made of dark walnut

Speaker 3 and lined with green velvet

Speaker 3 that must have been a bright emerald

Speaker 3 when it was first fitted into place

Speaker 3 by my grandfather's hands,

Speaker 3 but has faded over the years

Speaker 3 into the soft green of reindeer moss.

Speaker 3 He crafted it many years ago

Speaker 3 for my grandmother

Speaker 3 out in the workshop in his garage.

Speaker 3 It was a rare creation for him.

Speaker 3 He was mostly a fixer,

Speaker 3 a mender,

Speaker 3 who could step in when the furnace was on the fritz

Speaker 3 or when the attic stairs were stuck.

Speaker 3 He'd stand

Speaker 3 with hands on hips

Speaker 3 and just look look at the problem for a while,

Speaker 3 picturing where the troubles was,

Speaker 3 and how to sort it out.

Speaker 3 Then he'd slip a screwdriver from his shirt pocket

Speaker 3 and go to work.

Speaker 3 But for this box,

Speaker 3 he'd been starting from scratch,

Speaker 3 not mending,

Speaker 3 but creating.

Speaker 3 He'd sketched out the shape with a flat carpenter's pencil

Speaker 3 onto the pages of a steno notebook in the garage,

Speaker 3 and gone looking for the right piece of wood.

Speaker 3 When he found it,

Speaker 3 he'd measured and cut,

Speaker 3 and fitted the box together.

Speaker 3 The edges of the wood dovetailing like puzzle pieces.

Speaker 3 Then he'd divided the interior with thin slats

Speaker 3 and lined it all with green velvet.

Speaker 3 He'd let me watch as he created slots for grandma's rings,

Speaker 3 hooks to secure her necklaces,

Speaker 3 and a soft raised mound to loop her bracelets around.

Speaker 3 The top tray lifted out to reveal an open space underneath,

Speaker 3 inlaid with more velvet.

Speaker 3 The box was meant to be a surprise for her.

Speaker 3 And he'd asked me if I could keep a secret

Speaker 3 before he'd let me into the workshop.

Speaker 3 I'd kept my promise

Speaker 3 and got to be there on her birthday

Speaker 3 as she'd unwrapped it.

Speaker 3 I remember how quiet the room was

Speaker 3 as she ran her soft, creased hands over the smooth edges

Speaker 3 that he had spent ages carefully sanding and shaping.

Speaker 3 She lifted the lid

Speaker 3 and looked down at the velvet

Speaker 3 and then up at grandpa

Speaker 3 with such a bright, happy smile on her face

Speaker 3 that we all beamed back at her.

Speaker 3 She was a laugher,

Speaker 3 not a crier.

Speaker 3 And she laughed now,

Speaker 3 clapping her hands like a little girl,

Speaker 3 and leaning over to plant a kiss on Grandpa's cheek.

Speaker 3 The jewelry box had sat on her vanity table

Speaker 3 for the rest of her life,

Speaker 3 next to her tubes of lipstick,

Speaker 3 and tiny precious bottles of perfume.

Speaker 3 I remember sitting on the edge of her bed,

Speaker 3 my bare feet swinging,

Speaker 3 as I watched her make herself up for a Saturday night, out with Grandpa.

Speaker 3 She picked out her favorite necklace

Speaker 3 and lifted the tray out to peruse her brooches.

Speaker 3 I nosily looked over her shoulder as she did,

Speaker 3 and saw a few yellowed envelopes

Speaker 3 addressed to her in grandpa's hand.

Speaker 3 She saw me looking and winked at me in the mirror.

Speaker 3 She still had their love letters.

Speaker 3 When the box came to me,

Speaker 3 I gratefully found I could still smell a bit of her perfume

Speaker 3 whenever I lifted the lid.

Speaker 3 Now it held my rings, my bracelets and necklaces.

Speaker 3 In the compartment underneath

Speaker 3 were my own love letters,

Speaker 3 the stubs of concert tickets,

Speaker 3 and one of grandma's brooches.

Speaker 3 It was fragile,

Speaker 3 with a thin pin at its back

Speaker 3 that had been mended more than once.

Speaker 3 On its face was a collection of bright red stones circled with gold

Speaker 3 in the shape of a ladybug.

Speaker 3 Her wings were dotted with glossy black jewels.

Speaker 3 I suspected none of them were real gems.

Speaker 3 They were probably polished glass,

Speaker 3 what they used to call paste,

Speaker 3 but they were precious to me.

Speaker 3 I was careful with what grandma had passed to me,

Speaker 3 but I wasn't afraid to wear her brooch.

Speaker 3 I had her china, too,

Speaker 3 and used it nearly every day.

Speaker 3 Once,

Speaker 3 when we'd been drying dishes in her kitchen,

Speaker 3 and a slippery plate had slid out of my hands

Speaker 3 to crash into a million pieces on the black and white tiles of her floor.

Speaker 3 I turned a teary face up to her,

Speaker 3 and she caught my chin in her hand and kissed the tip of my nose, saying,

Speaker 3 Baby, it's a thing,

Speaker 3 not a person.

Speaker 3 It had made me feel so unashamed,

Speaker 3 and immediately realigned

Speaker 3 with what actually mattered.

Speaker 3 To this day,

Speaker 3 when something breaks, I stop and ask myself,

Speaker 3 is it a thing or a person?

Speaker 3 And like her,

Speaker 3 I can usually laugh instead of cry.

Speaker 3 I pinned her ladybug onto the lapel of my jacket to day

Speaker 3 as I'd gotten ready to go out the door,

Speaker 3 just feeling the need to have her around me.

Speaker 3 When I stepped out of my apartment

Speaker 3 and into the narrow alleys of the oldest part of downtown,

Speaker 3 I stopped

Speaker 3 to look up at the way the spring sunlight

Speaker 3 shone on the tops of the buildings.

Speaker 3 Autumn sun is brassy in the best possible way,

Speaker 3 but spring sunlight is bright gold, and I was happy to need my sunglasses as I walked.

Speaker 3 At the corner shop I stopped to buy a newspaper and a lemon muffin dotted with poppy seeds to tuck into my bag for later.

Speaker 3 The man who ran the shop

Speaker 3 had been sweeping the front step when I came in,

Speaker 3 and his grandson stood proudly behind the counter,

Speaker 3 his chin just clearing the stacks of newspapers.

Speaker 3 He added up my purchases

Speaker 3 and with a serious face,

Speaker 3 told me how much it would be.

Speaker 3 His grandfather smiled down at his broom as he swept.

Speaker 3 I handed over the money, and waited while the change was counted back.

Speaker 3 I think the little boy

Speaker 3 unresisted the urge to wink or make a joke.

Speaker 3 I remembered how important it was when you were young,

Speaker 3 and trying to seem grown up,

Speaker 3 that you were taken seriously.

Speaker 3 We shouldn't forget

Speaker 3 what being young feels like,

Speaker 3 even when we are young no longer

Speaker 3 on the street again

Speaker 3 with grandma's ladybug on my shoulder

Speaker 3 and the golden spring light making me squint

Speaker 3 I headed for the park

Speaker 3 The geese would be back

Speaker 3 honking their news

Speaker 3 and splashing cold lake water around their long black necks.

Speaker 3 I would find a bench,

Speaker 3 take my muffin from my bag,

Speaker 3 open my paper,

Speaker 3 and look for things to laugh about.

Speaker 3 Sweet dreams.