Sunny Skies

Speaker 1 Get more, nothing much happens, with bonus episodes, extra long stories, and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love. Subscribe now.

Speaker 1 The holidays can be a lot, can't they? For business owners, especially, this time of year can go from cozy to chaotic fast. I remember my first holiday rush.

Speaker 1 I was so worried something would break The website, the checkout, my own brain.

Speaker 1 But that's when I learned what a difference the right tools can make. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world.
About 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S.

Speaker 1 Whether you're just opening your virtual doors or you're running a full-blown store, Shopify helps you take the holidays from chaos to cha-ching.

Speaker 1 There are thousands of templates and tools to make your site beautiful and functional.

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 nothing much.

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 the website to check out my own brain.

Speaker 1 But that's when I learned what a difference the right tools can make. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world, about 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S.

Speaker 1 Whether you're just opening your virtual doors or you're running a full-blown store, Shopify helps you take the holidays from chaos to cha-ching.

Speaker 1 There are thousands of templates and tools to make your site beautiful and functional.

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 nothing much.

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

Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories

Speaker 1 for everyone,

Speaker 1 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good

Speaker 1 and then you fall asleep. I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read all the stories you hear on Nothing Much Happens

Speaker 1 with Audio Engineering by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We give to a different charity each week. And this week we are giving to voices for children.

Speaker 1 Their center serves as a voice and advocate for children throughout Genesee and Shiawassee counties in Michigan. Learn more in our show notes.

Speaker 1 If you aren't a premium subscriber, you might notice a few more ads on the show.

Speaker 1 They run before the show and right before I tuck you in.

Speaker 1 And we take our deep breaths. And if you'd rather not hear them, premium access is about a dime a day.

Speaker 1 Learn more in our show notes or at nothingmuchhappens.com.

Speaker 1 A busy mind can keep you up or make returning to sleep in the middle of the night really difficult.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 let's try some positive distraction therapy. I'll tell you a sweet, simple story.

Speaker 1 In fact, I'll tell it twice

Speaker 1 and I'll go a little slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 Just follow along with the sound of my voice and that will slow your busy brain and sleep will come.

Speaker 1 Know that this is brain training. Regular use improves results.

Speaker 1 So have some patience if you are new here.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Sunny Skies.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about our little village of nothing much

Speaker 1 stepping back into the light after a long winter storm.

Speaker 1 It's also about small changes adding up over time.

Speaker 1 Candle ice and frost flowers. Letting the sun bathe your face after several gray days.

Speaker 1 And a small adventure to keep you going till spring.

Speaker 1 Okay.

Speaker 1 Lights out, friend.

Speaker 1 The day is done.

Speaker 1 Whatever happened today

Speaker 1 is what happened today.

Speaker 1 And now it is time for sleep.

Speaker 1 Let everything relax.

Speaker 1 Unlock your jaw.

Speaker 1 soften your shoulders,

Speaker 1 and notice how good it feels

Speaker 1 to be safe in bed.

Speaker 1 Draw a slow, deep breath in

Speaker 1 and sigh it out.

Speaker 1 One more time, fill your lungs

Speaker 1 and empty.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Sunny skies.

Speaker 1 After weeks of snow and ice, today dawned with a different feeling.

Speaker 1 I'd been noticing the extra minute of daylight in the morning and at night.

Speaker 1 It still felt like like it didn't add up to much.

Speaker 1 But I remembered what one of my yoga teachers used to say about small steps.

Speaker 1 1% today,

Speaker 1 1% tomorrow.

Speaker 1 And this morning,

Speaker 1 that 1%

Speaker 1 change was tangible.

Speaker 1 There was a different scent in the air,

Speaker 1 a different texture of light as the sun cut across the horizon.

Speaker 1 It wasn't spring. I knew that.

Speaker 1 But it was a reminder that winter wasn't just one thing.

Speaker 1 It has shades.

Speaker 1 It is a spectrum of experiences.

Speaker 1 I'd noticed it when I stepped outside to get the newspaper.

Speaker 1 Something I've done lately in the gloom, with my face wrapped up in a muffler,

Speaker 1 shuffling in my boots and

Speaker 1 reaching with damp mittens into the snow bank at the edge of the driveway.

Speaker 1 But today

Speaker 1 the air felt different.

Speaker 1 It was

Speaker 1 softer.

Speaker 1 The crisp edge of it had been smoothed into something

Speaker 1 that was easy to breathe

Speaker 1 and had a slight, sweet scent,

Speaker 1 like rain on pavement.

Speaker 1 The bracing cold was suddenly less bracing.

Speaker 1 Instead of rounding my shoulders and hunching over

Speaker 1 to keep any warmth in,

Speaker 1 I stood tall

Speaker 1 and lifted my face to the open sky.

Speaker 1 I let my scarf fall away from my neck and took slow, deep breaths.

Speaker 1 The sun made me blink.

Speaker 1 When I had seen it last,

Speaker 1 which now felt like weeks ago,

Speaker 1 it was a bright white,

Speaker 1 appearing rarely

Speaker 1 and between snow showers.

Speaker 1 Now it had a rich honey yellow color,

Speaker 1 and it felt like pure energy pouring into my system.

Speaker 1 I closed my eyes

Speaker 1 and let it bathe my face.

Speaker 1 Gosh,

Speaker 1 I'd forgotten how good this feels.

Speaker 1 I started down the porch steps and noticed the icicles dripping from the eaves.

Speaker 1 I realized, in fact,

Speaker 1 that there were lots of sounds to tune into this morning.

Speaker 1 Squirrels and some of the hardier birds who stayed through the winter

Speaker 1 moving along tree branches

Speaker 1 where snow was quickly disappearing.

Speaker 1 I heard dogs barking in the distance,

Speaker 1 garage doors going up,

Speaker 1 cars on the next straight over.

Speaker 1 Activity.

Speaker 1 It was

Speaker 1 inspiring.

Speaker 1 I loved this stretch of time

Speaker 1 when winter slowed us to a stop.

Speaker 1 When everything was paused.

Speaker 1 And I'd been able to retreat into my cozy house.

Speaker 1 Stay in my favorite jammies all day.

Speaker 1 Watch movies and make soup.

Speaker 1 But now it felt like a nice change of pace

Speaker 1 to do something else.

Speaker 1 And the day seemed to be encouraging just that.

Speaker 1 At the bottom of the steps, I reached down for the newspaper, thankfully well wrapped

Speaker 1 and protected from all this melting snow.

Speaker 1 I tucked it under one arm and went farther down the drive to the sidewalk,

Speaker 1 then

Speaker 1 followed that to the corner a few houses down.

Speaker 1 I wasn't sure what I was looking for.

Speaker 1 Just wanted to see more, I guess.

Speaker 1 To see what we were all getting up to.

Speaker 1 If others could feel the change that I could.

Speaker 1 Across the street, I saw a man walking a dog.

Speaker 1 He waved at me,

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 even the dog seemed to be smiling.

Speaker 1 Yes, I think they could feel it too.

Speaker 1 I crossed the street and went another block over.

Speaker 1 I passed a frozen pond.

Speaker 1 One sunny morning

Speaker 1 hadn't done anything to its inches of frozen ice.

Speaker 1 And I stopped a moment to look at the way the light caught the angles of its surface.

Speaker 1 It wasn't even and flat.

Speaker 1 The wind must have been blowing hard as the crystals came together.

Speaker 1 I'd seen pictures before

Speaker 1 of frozen waves on the Great Lakes.

Speaker 1 I'd heard of candle ice

Speaker 1 that made a beautiful ringing sound

Speaker 1 as millions of thin straws of frozen water bumped into each other.

Speaker 1 And once I'd held a frost flower in my hand,

Speaker 1 a kind of ice that came from a freezing fog.

Speaker 1 This was just a small pond with a slightly bumpy surface.

Speaker 1 But still,

Speaker 1 I felt like I'd stumbled upon something miraculous.

Speaker 1 I squatted down to look more closely

Speaker 1 and noticed that in the bright sun,

Speaker 1 the snow and ice

Speaker 1 sparkled like glitter

Speaker 1 with a rainbow rainbow of colours

Speaker 1 that I could only catch

Speaker 1 when the light hit just right.

Speaker 1 I stood up tall,

Speaker 1 tossing the dangling end of my scarf

Speaker 1 back over my shoulder.

Speaker 1 I remembered I had the newspaper under my arm.

Speaker 1 And while I did have my boots and coat on,

Speaker 1 I was still dressed in my pajamas under it all.

Speaker 1 And maybe I should regroup

Speaker 1 before continuing any adventures.

Speaker 1 Making my way

Speaker 1 back across the street

Speaker 1 and up the block to my house,

Speaker 1 I found myself taking one deep breath after another,

Speaker 1 drawing this new energy deep inside

Speaker 1 to fill my cup.

Speaker 1 At my house, I dropped the newspaper on the kitchen table.

Speaker 1 I would read it later.

Speaker 1 And went to change into jeans and a sweater.

Speaker 1 I felt the urge to open a window, but I knew I was getting well ahead of myself.

Speaker 1 I remembered an early spring day

Speaker 1 years before

Speaker 1 when I had my first apartment

Speaker 1 and how desperate I had been

Speaker 1 to let warm air in on a sunny day.

Speaker 1 I'd opened all the windows and gone out with friends for lunch.

Speaker 1 Our outing had lasted longer than I'd planned and by the time I'd made it back home

Speaker 1 my little flat was cold and drafty.

Speaker 1 It had chased all the warmth right out of me.

Speaker 1 And after I'd closed up the windows,

Speaker 1 I'd had to layer two pairs of sweatpants on to sleep in.

Speaker 1 Older and wiser,

Speaker 1 I opened the curtains rather than the windows themselves,

Speaker 1 and sunlight filled my rooms.

Speaker 1 I got dressed excitedly,

Speaker 1 still dressing warmly, but choosing a thinner sweater and just regular socks rather than the double thick ones

Speaker 1 which barely squeezed into my shoes.

Speaker 1 Back downstairs,

Speaker 1 I donned my coat and boots and was out the door again.

Speaker 1 I still didn't know where I was going,

Speaker 1 But I felt the urge to go, to see, to be out in the world.

Speaker 1 On the road,

Speaker 1 as my car warmed up around me,

Speaker 1 I figured a coffee from the coffee shop,

Speaker 1 a bun from the bakery,

Speaker 1 and then a long drive

Speaker 1 out on the state road would be perfect.

Speaker 1 I'd stop at that bridge that crosses the river

Speaker 1 and get out and listen to the ice breaking up.

Speaker 1 Reaching into my bag,

Speaker 1 I found my sunglasses.

Speaker 1 I hadn't needed them in quite a while.

Speaker 1 And I slipped them on

Speaker 1 and turned on the radio.

Speaker 1 I smiled

Speaker 1 into the sun.

Speaker 1 Sunny skies

Speaker 1 After weeks of snow and ice,

Speaker 1 today dawned with a different feeling.

Speaker 1 I'd been noticing

Speaker 1 the extra minute of daylight in the morning

Speaker 1 and at night.

Speaker 1 It still felt

Speaker 1 like

Speaker 1 it didn't add up to much.

Speaker 1 But I remembered

Speaker 1 what one of my yoga teachers

Speaker 1 used to say

Speaker 1 about small steps.

Speaker 1 One percent today

Speaker 1 one percent tomorrow

Speaker 1 and this morning

Speaker 1 that

Speaker 1 one percent change

Speaker 1 was

Speaker 1 tangible.

Speaker 1 There was a different scent

Speaker 1 in the air,

Speaker 1 A different texture of light

Speaker 1 as the sun cut across the horizon.

Speaker 1 It wasn't spring,

Speaker 1 I knew that,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 it was a reminder

Speaker 1 that winter wasn't just one thing.

Speaker 1 It has shades.

Speaker 1 It is a spectrum of experiences.

Speaker 1 I'd noticed when I stepped outside to get the newspaper

Speaker 1 something I've done lately

Speaker 1 in the gloom

Speaker 1 with my face wrapped up in a muffler,

Speaker 1 Shuffling in my boots

Speaker 1 and reaching with damp mittens

Speaker 1 into the snow bank

Speaker 1 at the edge of the driveway

Speaker 1 But today

Speaker 1 the air felt different

Speaker 1 It was

Speaker 1 softer

Speaker 1 The crisp edge of it

Speaker 1 had been smoothed into something

Speaker 1 that was easy to breathe

Speaker 1 and had a slight sweet scent

Speaker 1 like rain on pavement.

Speaker 1 The bracing cold

Speaker 1 was

Speaker 1 suddenly less bracing.

Speaker 1 Instead of rounding my shoulders

Speaker 1 and hunching over

Speaker 1 to keep any warmth in,

Speaker 1 I stood tall

Speaker 1 and lifted my face

Speaker 1 to the open sky.

Speaker 1 I let my scarf

Speaker 1 fall away from my neck

Speaker 1 and took slow, deep breaths.

Speaker 1 The sun made me blink.

Speaker 1 When I had seen it last,

Speaker 1 which

Speaker 1 now felt like weeks ago,

Speaker 1 it was a bright white,

Speaker 1 appearing rarely

Speaker 1 and between snow showers.

Speaker 1 Now

Speaker 1 it had a rich

Speaker 1 honey yellow color

Speaker 1 and it felt like pure energy

Speaker 1 pouring into my system.

Speaker 1 I closed my eyes

Speaker 1 and let it bathe

Speaker 1 my face.

Speaker 1 Gosh,

Speaker 1 I'd forgotten

Speaker 1 how good

Speaker 1 that feels.

Speaker 1 I'd started down the porch steps

Speaker 1 and noticed

Speaker 1 the icicles

Speaker 1 dripping from the eaves.

Speaker 1 I realized, in fact,

Speaker 1 that there were lots of sounds to tune into this morning.

Speaker 1 Squirrels

Speaker 1 and some

Speaker 1 of the hardier birds

Speaker 1 who stayed through the winter,

Speaker 1 moving along tree branches,

Speaker 1 where snow was quickly disappearing.

Speaker 1 I heard dogs

Speaker 1 barking in the distance,

Speaker 1 garage doors

Speaker 1 going up,

Speaker 1 cars

Speaker 1 on the next street over

Speaker 1 activity.

Speaker 1 It was

Speaker 1 inspiring.

Speaker 1 I'd loved this stretch of time

Speaker 1 when winter slowed us to a stop

Speaker 1 when

Speaker 1 everything was paused.

Speaker 1 When I'd been able

Speaker 1 to retreat

Speaker 1 into my cozy house,

Speaker 1 stay in my favorite jammies

Speaker 1 all day,

Speaker 1 watch movies,

Speaker 1 and make soup.

Speaker 1 But now

Speaker 1 it felt like a nice change of pace

Speaker 1 to do something else,

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 the day seemed to be encouraging,

Speaker 1 Just that.

Speaker 1 At the bottom of the steps,

Speaker 1 I reached down for the newspaper.

Speaker 1 Thankfully well-wrapped and protected

Speaker 1 from all this melting snow.

Speaker 1 I tucked it under one arm

Speaker 1 and went

Speaker 1 further down the drive to the sidewalk,

Speaker 1 then followed that

Speaker 1 to the corner a few houses down.

Speaker 1 I wasn't sure

Speaker 1 what I was

Speaker 1 looking for.

Speaker 1 Just wanted to see more, I guess.

Speaker 1 To see what we were all getting up to.

Speaker 1 If others could feel the change that I could.

Speaker 1 Across the street,

Speaker 1 I saw a man

Speaker 1 walking a dog.

Speaker 1 He waved at me,

Speaker 1 and even the dog

Speaker 1 seemed to be smiling

Speaker 1 Yes,

Speaker 1 I think

Speaker 1 they could feel it too

Speaker 1 I crossed the street

Speaker 1 and went another block over

Speaker 1 I passed a frozen pond

Speaker 1 one sunny morning

Speaker 1 hadn't done anything

Speaker 1 to its inches of frozen ice

Speaker 1 and I stopped a moment

Speaker 1 to look at the way

Speaker 1 the light caught the angles of its surface.

Speaker 1 It wasn't even

Speaker 1 and flat.

Speaker 1 The wind must have been blowing hard

Speaker 1 as the crystals came together.

Speaker 1 I'd seen pictures before

Speaker 1 of frozen waves on the Great Lakes.

Speaker 1 I'd heard of candle ice

Speaker 1 that made a beautiful ringing sound

Speaker 1 as millions

Speaker 1 of thin straws of frozen water

Speaker 1 bumped into each other.

Speaker 1 And once

Speaker 1 I'd held a frost flower

Speaker 1 in my hand,

Speaker 1 a kind of ice that came from a freezing fog.

Speaker 1 This

Speaker 1 was just a small pond

Speaker 1 with a slightly bumpy surface.

Speaker 1 But still,

Speaker 1 I felt like I'd stumbled upon something

Speaker 1 miraculous.

Speaker 1 I squatted down

Speaker 1 to look more closely

Speaker 1 and noticed that

Speaker 1 in the bright sun

Speaker 1 the snow and ice

Speaker 1 sparkled like glitter

Speaker 1 with a rainbow of colors

Speaker 1 that I could only catch

Speaker 1 when the light hit just right.

Speaker 1 I stood up,

Speaker 1 tossing the dangling end of my scarf

Speaker 1 back over my shoulder.

Speaker 1 I remembered that I had the newspaper under my arm

Speaker 1 and that

Speaker 1 while I did have my boots and coat on,

Speaker 1 I was still dressed in my pajamas under it all.

Speaker 1 And maybe

Speaker 1 I should regroup

Speaker 1 before continuing any adventures.

Speaker 1 Making my way

Speaker 1 back across the street

Speaker 1 and up the block to my house,

Speaker 1 I found myself

Speaker 1 taking one deep breath after another.

Speaker 1 Drawing this new energy

Speaker 1 deep inside

Speaker 1 to fill my cup.

Speaker 1 At my house,

Speaker 1 I dropped the newspaper on the kitchen table

Speaker 1 to read later

Speaker 1 and went

Speaker 1 to change into jeans

Speaker 1 and a sweater.

Speaker 1 I felt the urge to open a window,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 I knew I was getting

Speaker 1 well ahead of myself.

Speaker 1 I remembered

Speaker 1 an early spring day

Speaker 1 years

Speaker 1 before

Speaker 1 when I'd had my first apartment

Speaker 1 and how desperate I had been

Speaker 1 to let warm air in

Speaker 1 on a sunny day.

Speaker 1 I'd opened all the windows

Speaker 1 and gone out with friends for lunch.

Speaker 1 Our outing had lasted longer than I'd planned

Speaker 1 and by the time I'd made it back home

Speaker 1 my little flat

Speaker 1 was cold and drafty

Speaker 1 it had chased

Speaker 1 all the warmth

Speaker 1 right out of me

Speaker 1 and After I'd closed up the windows

Speaker 1 I'd had to layer two pairs of sweatpants on

Speaker 1 to sleep in.

Speaker 1 Older and wiser,

Speaker 1 I opened the curtains

Speaker 1 rather than the windows themselves

Speaker 1 and sunlight filled my rooms.

Speaker 1 I got dressed excitedly

Speaker 1 Still dressing warmly,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 choosing a thinner sweater

Speaker 1 and just regular socks rather than

Speaker 1 the double thick ones

Speaker 1 which

Speaker 1 I knew barely squeezed into my shoes.

Speaker 1 Back downstairs,

Speaker 1 I donned my coat

Speaker 1 and boots

Speaker 1 and was out the door again.

Speaker 1 I still didn't know

Speaker 1 where

Speaker 1 I was going,

Speaker 1 but I felt the urge to go

Speaker 1 to see,

Speaker 1 to be

Speaker 1 out

Speaker 1 in the world

Speaker 1 on the road

Speaker 1 as my car warmed up around me.

Speaker 1 I figured a coffee from the coffee shop,

Speaker 1 a bun from the bakery,

Speaker 1 and then

Speaker 1 a long drive

Speaker 1 out on the state road

Speaker 1 would be perfect.

Speaker 1 I'd stop at that bridge

Speaker 1 that crosses the river

Speaker 1 and get out

Speaker 1 and listen to the ice breaking up.

Speaker 1 Reaching into my bag

Speaker 1 I found my sunglasses

Speaker 1 I hadn't needed them in quite a while

Speaker 1 when I slipped them on

Speaker 1 and turned on the radio

Speaker 1 I smiled

Speaker 1 into the sun

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.