Out Like a Lamb (Encore)

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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 That's shopify.com/slash nothing much.

Speaker 1 welcome to bedtime stories for everyone

Speaker 1 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens

Speaker 1 you feel good

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 you fall asleep

Speaker 1 i'm catherine nikolai i write and read all the stories you hear on nothing much happens

Speaker 1 audio engineering is by bob witter sheim

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 1 Now,

Speaker 1 I have a story to tell you.

Speaker 1 It is sort of like a lullaby.

Speaker 1 And if you let it, it will rock your thinking mind to sleep.

Speaker 1 The story is simple.

Speaker 1 Not much happens in it. And that is the idea.

Speaker 1 Just by listening, we'll be able to shift some activity in your brain from the static background noise of your default mode

Speaker 1 to the soothing focus of task positive mode.

Speaker 1 And that's where sleep can happen.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 If you wake in the night and feel your brain start to kick back on, don't hesitate to start the story again.

Speaker 1 The effects of this conditioning will improve with practice.

Speaker 1 So be patient if you're new to it.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Out Like a Lamb.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about the changeable month of March

Speaker 1 and a day spent enjoying a bit of both winter and spring.

Speaker 1 It's also about a book read in the bath, the luxury of a slow start to the day,

Speaker 1 sunlight warming the floorboards, a pot of pansies dusted with snow,

Speaker 1 and making peace with a bit of chaos inside and out.

Speaker 1 Now,

Speaker 1 switch off your light and slide down into your sheets.

Speaker 1 Anything that feels good in this moment,

Speaker 1 please notice it.

Speaker 1 Please let it sink in.

Speaker 1 You are in your bed.

Speaker 1 You are about to have a great night's sleep.

Speaker 1 And when you wake tomorrow, you'll feel rested and ready.

Speaker 1 Let's take a deep breath in through the nose

Speaker 1 and sigh from your mouth.

Speaker 1 Do that one more time. Inhale

Speaker 1 and let it out.

Speaker 1 Good

Speaker 1 out

Speaker 1 like a lamb.

Speaker 1 March is wild and ever-changing.

Speaker 1 Sweet, mild spring one hour,

Speaker 1 a howling gale of snow and ice the next.

Speaker 1 I liked her unpredictability.

Speaker 1 How unapologetic she was

Speaker 1 when she turned on a dime and changed herself completely in an afternoon.

Speaker 1 I'd heard once that each person is a string of DNA

Speaker 1 that would take over a century to recite.

Speaker 1 So I imagine that if we feel complicated at times,

Speaker 1 like we hold zones of temperate and inclement weather within ourselves,

Speaker 1 that they sometimes overlap and emerge on their own schedule,

Speaker 1 well,

Speaker 1 that adds up.

Speaker 1 The morning had come in like a lion.

Speaker 1 When I'd pushed aside the curtains in my bedroom,

Speaker 1 I'd found a few inches of fresh snow spread over the yard,

Speaker 1 and more falling fast behind it.

Speaker 1 The winter aconite, with its tiny yellow flowers that had appeared a week before

Speaker 1 around the roots of the pine trees, were covered with white.

Speaker 1 While they had been beautiful, I had to admit this snowfall was as well.

Speaker 1 It slowed me down

Speaker 1 in a real, literal way. I stopped and breathed,

Speaker 1 spent time just looking.

Speaker 1 I'd had a plan in the back of my mind to dress and head into town,

Speaker 1 to spend the morning running errands, but

Speaker 1 suddenly

Speaker 1 none of that sounded pressing or appealing.

Speaker 1 And if the roads were slick,

Speaker 1 it seemed a silly risk to take in order to return some library books

Speaker 1 and stand in line at the post office.

Speaker 1 No,

Speaker 1 I should stay tucked in at home,

Speaker 1 bundle up and enjoy watching the snow come down.

Speaker 1 It hadn't really taken much time to convince myself of this.

Speaker 1 I was still standing in front of the window

Speaker 1 with the curtain in my hand.

Speaker 1 A gust of wind blew a thick wave of flakes against the panes,

Speaker 1 and I could feel the chill of it on my skin.

Speaker 1 I could get back into bed. That was always a lovely option.

Speaker 1 But I thought about another another

Speaker 1 that I rarely took,

Speaker 1 but would feel so good right now.

Speaker 1 A morning bath.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 a morning bath.

Speaker 1 It sets the perfect tone for a day when you don't have to rush off to anything.

Speaker 1 It says,

Speaker 1 Today, we are going slow.

Speaker 1 I stepped into the bathroom

Speaker 1 and opened the tap over the tub.

Speaker 1 In the cabinet, I looked through the bottles and jars.

Speaker 1 I had some Epsom salts,

Speaker 1 good for soaking when my body was achy.

Speaker 1 As well as a jar a friend had gifted me with rose petals

Speaker 1 and grains of lavender mixed into the salts.

Speaker 1 It smelled wonderful, but last time I used it,

Speaker 1 I'd been picking the lavender out of my hair for a few days.

Speaker 1 Instead, I reached for the bottle of pearly bubble bath

Speaker 1 and trickled a stream of it

Speaker 1 into the steaming water.

Speaker 1 As the tub filled, I got a fresh towel and washcloth from the linen closet,

Speaker 1 my book from the bedside table,

Speaker 1 and a tall glass of water from the kitchen.

Speaker 1 It's strange what feels indulgent to you at different stages in your life.

Speaker 1 When I was younger,

Speaker 1 it wouldn't have been staying home to take a bath on a Saturday morning.

Speaker 1 But here I was.

Speaker 1 Maybe it is a gift of aging,

Speaker 1 a growing understanding of

Speaker 1 what is enough,

Speaker 1 and a capacity to enjoy it when you have it.

Speaker 1 In that first minute in the hot water, my mind went peacefully quiet.

Speaker 1 I wasn't thinking much of anything,

Speaker 1 just feeling the heat

Speaker 1 and the relaxation in my muscles.

Speaker 1 I stretched out in the tub

Speaker 1 and closed my eyes.

Speaker 1 I could hear the wind blowing around the house,

Speaker 1 and I thought about the squirrels and rabbits digging deeper into their dens,

Speaker 1 curling around one another for warmth.

Speaker 1 I picked up my book and read.

Speaker 1 When the water started to feel a little cool,

Speaker 1 I just turned the hot tap back on and let it run till it was piping again.

Speaker 1 I sipped water,

Speaker 1 soaked up my washcloth and scrubbed, and eventually

Speaker 1 felt ready to get out.

Speaker 1 As I reached for my giant bath towel

Speaker 1 and wrapped it around me,

Speaker 1 I had a memory of being helped out of the tub as a child,

Speaker 1 being wrapped in a warm towel,

Speaker 1 and how safe and happy it had made me feel.

Speaker 1 I smiled at myself in the steamy mirror.

Speaker 1 I'd taken over that job

Speaker 1 of being the steward of my own happiness and safety.

Speaker 1 And while I hadn't been very good at it at the beginning,

Speaker 1 it had taken practice and unlearning some things along the way.

Speaker 1 I was now adept.

Speaker 1 I protected me.

Speaker 1 I was safe with me.

Speaker 1 I was happy with me.

Speaker 1 I pulled on a robe

Speaker 1 and and stepped back into the bedroom to peer out of the window.

Speaker 1 To my surprise, the sun was shining,

Speaker 1 and the wind had dropped to nothing.

Speaker 1 The trees stood still,

Speaker 1 dripping in the sunlight, and the sidewalks were already free of snow.

Speaker 1 I cracked the window and leaned down to the sill to breathe in the air.

Speaker 1 It wasn't warm exactly, but

Speaker 1 I thought I could smell the sunlight in it,

Speaker 1 and it was inviting.

Speaker 1 As I dressed and combed my hair,

Speaker 1 the sunlight grew brighter, cutting into my rooms and warming my wood floors with its rays.

Speaker 1 By the time I was pulling on my shoes and thinking about an early lunch,

Speaker 1 all the morning snow was gone.

Speaker 1 And when I opened up my front door, bird song rang from the treetops in my yard.

Speaker 1 I chuckled at March

Speaker 1 and her changeable ways,

Speaker 1 zipped up my jacket

Speaker 1 and set out in search of something tasty.

Speaker 1 I'd been so ready to spend the day curled up at home, but

Speaker 1 now I wanted to be out in the world,

Speaker 1 enjoying the warmth till March took another left turn.

Speaker 1 There was a cafe on the corner,

Speaker 1 built into a little brick building,

Speaker 1 and their pots of pansies were still dusted with snow as I walked up and pulled open their door.

Speaker 1 They made excellent sandwiches and soup,

Speaker 1 and there were always a few empty tables and booths to slide into.

Speaker 1 I found one near the front window and sat down,

Speaker 1 unzipping my jacket,

Speaker 1 letting the sun shine on my face.

Speaker 1 On special, they had a roasted cauliflower sandwich with avocado and tahini sauce served on toasted marble rye with housemade chips and ginger iced tea.

Speaker 1 It had my name all over it,

Speaker 1 and after I ordered it, I sat back

Speaker 1 and watched people walking out on the street.

Speaker 1 By tonight,

Speaker 1 the winter could be back in full force, icy with fresh snow,

Speaker 1 or we may be headed into a few days of sun and warmth.

Speaker 1 I guess in some ways it didn't really matter.

Speaker 1 I could find ways to enjoy whatever came.

Speaker 1 Out

Speaker 1 like a lamb.

Speaker 1 March is wild

Speaker 1 and ever changing.

Speaker 1 Sweet, mild spring one hour,

Speaker 1 a howling gale of snow and ice the next.

Speaker 1 I liked her unpredictability.

Speaker 1 How unapologetic she was

Speaker 1 when she turned on a dime and changed herself completely

Speaker 1 in an afternoon.

Speaker 1 I'd heard once that each person

Speaker 1 is a string of DNA

Speaker 1 that would take over a century to recite.

Speaker 1 So I imagine that if we feel complicated at times,

Speaker 1 like we hold zones of temperate and inclement weather within ourselves,

Speaker 1 that they sometimes overlap and emerge on their own schedule.

Speaker 1 Well,

Speaker 1 that adds up.

Speaker 1 The morning had come in like a lion.

Speaker 1 When I'd pushed aside the curtains in my bedroom,

Speaker 1 I'd found a few inches of fresh snow spread over the yard,

Speaker 1 and more falling fast behind it.

Speaker 1 The winter aconite

Speaker 1 with its tiny yellow flowers that had appeared a week before

Speaker 1 around the roots of pine trees

Speaker 1 were covered with white.

Speaker 1 And while they had been beautiful,

Speaker 1 I had to admit that this snowfall was as well.

Speaker 1 It slowed me down

Speaker 1 in a real

Speaker 1 literal way.

Speaker 1 I stopped,

Speaker 1 breathed,

Speaker 1 spent time just looking.

Speaker 1 I'd had a plan in the back of my mind

Speaker 1 to dress and head into town,

Speaker 1 to spend the morning running errands.

Speaker 1 But suddenly, none of that sounded pressing

Speaker 1 or appealing.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 if the roads were slick, it seemed a silly risk to take

Speaker 1 in order to return some library books and stand in line at the post office.

Speaker 1 No, I should stay tucked in at home,

Speaker 1 bundle up and enjoy watching the snow come down.

Speaker 1 It hadn't really taken much time to convince myself of this.

Speaker 1 I was still standing in front of the window

Speaker 1 with the curtain in my hand.

Speaker 1 A gust of wind blew a thick wave of flakes against the panes,

Speaker 1 and I could feel the chill of it on my skin.

Speaker 1 I could get back into bed.

Speaker 1 That was always a lovely option, but

Speaker 1 I thought about another one that I rarely took, but would feel so good right now.

Speaker 1 A morning bath.

Speaker 1 Oh, a morning bath.

Speaker 1 It sets the perfect tone for a day when you don't have to rush off to anything.

Speaker 1 It says, Today,

Speaker 1 we are going slow.

Speaker 1 I stepped into the bathroom

Speaker 1 and opened the tap over the tub.

Speaker 1 In the cabinet, I looked through the bottles and jars.

Speaker 1 I had some Epsom salts,

Speaker 1 good for soaking when my body was achy,

Speaker 1 as well as a jar a friend had gifted me

Speaker 1 with rose petals,

Speaker 1 grains of lavender mixed into the salts.

Speaker 1 It smelled wonderful,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 last time I'd used it,

Speaker 1 I'd been picking the lavender out of my hair for a few days.

Speaker 1 Instead,

Speaker 1 I reached for a bottle of pearly bubble bath

Speaker 1 and trickled a stream of it into the steaming water.

Speaker 1 As the tub filled, I got a fresh towel and wash cloth from the linen closet,

Speaker 1 my book from the bedside table,

Speaker 1 and a tall glass of water from the kitchen.

Speaker 1 It's strange what feels indulgent to you at different stages in your life.

Speaker 1 When I was younger, it wouldn't have been staying home to take a bath on a Saturday morning.

Speaker 1 But here I was.

Speaker 1 Maybe it is a gift of aging,

Speaker 1 a growing understanding of

Speaker 1 what was enough

Speaker 1 and a capacity to enjoy it when you have it.

Speaker 1 In that first minute in the hot water,

Speaker 1 my mind went peacefully quiet.

Speaker 1 I wasn't thinking

Speaker 1 much of anything,

Speaker 1 just feeling the heat

Speaker 1 and the relaxation in my muscles.

Speaker 1 I stretched out in the tub

Speaker 1 and closed my eyes.

Speaker 1 I could hear the wind blowing around the house,

Speaker 1 and I thought about the squirrels and rabbits digging deeper into their dens,

Speaker 1 curling around one another for warmth.

Speaker 1 I picked up my book

Speaker 1 and read.

Speaker 1 When the water started to feel a little cool,

Speaker 1 I just turned the hot tap back on

Speaker 1 and let it run till it was piping again.

Speaker 1 I sipped water,

Speaker 1 soaped up my washcloth,

Speaker 1 and scrubbed,

Speaker 1 and eventually felt ready to get out.

Speaker 1 As I reached for my giant bath towel

Speaker 1 and wrapped it around me,

Speaker 1 I had a memory of being helped out of the tub as a child,

Speaker 1 being wrapped in a warm towel,

Speaker 1 and how safe and happy it had made me feel.

Speaker 1 I smiled at myself in the steamy mirror.

Speaker 1 I'd taken over that job

Speaker 1 of being the steward of my own happiness and safety.

Speaker 1 And while I hadn't been very good at it at the beginning,

Speaker 1 It had taken practice

Speaker 1 and unlearning some things along the way.

Speaker 1 I was now

Speaker 1 adept.

Speaker 1 I protected me.

Speaker 1 I was safe with me.

Speaker 1 I was happy with me.

Speaker 1 I pulled on a robe and stepped back into the bedroom to peer out of the window.

Speaker 1 To my surprise,

Speaker 1 the sun was shining,

Speaker 1 and the wind had dropped to nothing.

Speaker 1 The trees stood still,

Speaker 1 dripping in the sunlight,

Speaker 1 and the sidewalks were already free of snow.

Speaker 1 I cracked the window

Speaker 1 and leaned down to the sill to breathe in the air.

Speaker 1 It wasn't warm exactly,

Speaker 1 but I thought I could smell the sunlight in it,

Speaker 1 and it was inviting.

Speaker 1 As I dressed and combed my hair,

Speaker 1 the sunlight grew brighter,

Speaker 1 cutting into my rooms and warming my wood floors with its rays.

Speaker 1 By the time I was pulling on my shoes and thinking about an early lunch,

Speaker 1 all the morning snow was gone.

Speaker 1 And when I opened up my front door,

Speaker 1 bird song rang from the treetops in my yard.

Speaker 1 I chuckled at March

Speaker 1 and her changeable ways,

Speaker 1 zipped up my jacket

Speaker 1 and set out

Speaker 1 in search of something tasty.

Speaker 1 I'd been so ready to spend the day curled up at home.

Speaker 1 But now

Speaker 1 I wanted to be out in the world,

Speaker 1 enjoying the warmth till March took another left turn.

Speaker 1 There was a cafe on the corner built into a little brick building,

Speaker 1 and their pots of pansies were still dusted with snow as I walked up

Speaker 1 and pulled open their door.

Speaker 1 They made excellent sandwiches and soups,

Speaker 1 and there were always a few empty tables and booths to slide into.

Speaker 1 I found one near the front window and sat down,

Speaker 1 unzipping my jacket

Speaker 1 and feeling the sunshine on my face.

Speaker 1 On special,

Speaker 1 they had a roasted cauliflower sandwich with avocado and tahini sauce,

Speaker 1 served on marble rye with housemade chips and ginger iced tea.

Speaker 1 It had my name all over it,

Speaker 1 and after I ordered it,

Speaker 1 I sat back,

Speaker 1 watched people walking on the street.

Speaker 1 By tonight

Speaker 1 the winter could be back in full force,

Speaker 1 icy with fresh snow,

Speaker 1 or we may be headed

Speaker 1 into a few days of sun and warmth.

Speaker 1 I guess in some ways

Speaker 1 it didn't really matter.

Speaker 1 I could find ways to enjoy whatever came,

Speaker 1 sweet dreams.