54. Mall Thoughts

Nora advises that you stop and take a look around your fellow humans. Yeah we can stress and annoy the heck out of each other, but also we’re kinda just little animals in our little habitats. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

INTRO MUSIC

I’m Nora McInerney, and it’s going to be okay.

One source of many of my anxieties is anywhere where you can shop, right? A big box retailer. A mall, any place filled with items that I tend to see as pre-garbage. This is the opposite of what the show is supposed to do. But sometimes I just walk into a building, a mall, a store, and I just see a future landfill. That’s what I see.

So it’s really strange that today’s thought, today’s episode came to me in a mall. Mall culture here in Arizona is alive and thriving. And I know that because my niece, Josie, loves going to the mall, and this is so flattering to me, she likes going to the mall with me. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I am dedicated to being the fun aunt to all of my nieces and nephews. I am the fun aunt and by that I am known to whisper to them, If there’s anything you need, just call me. Call Auntie Nora.

We were having that kind of day where the thing that Josie needed was to go to the mall. Go to the mall, have a Shake Shack burger, or possibly also a shake. Walk through stores filled with expensive things that her mother wants her to earn and work for. But her aunt says, Hey, you know what? You’re working so hard as a sophomore in high school, of course I’ll get that for you.

We were having that kind of day, and we’re walking through the mall. The mall is filled with people, mostly tourists. Because this mall is in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is kind of the center of vacation ville. And everywhere you go, there are people walking the same direction as you walk in the opposite direction, as you standing in the middle of the walkway, staring at something, just chatting in groves of people. It’s very easy for me and people like me to get irritated in situations like that. It’s very easy for a person like me to be like, Oh God, look at all these people. But on this day, maybe it was the shake. Maybe it was the company I was keeping. Maybe it was just just a particularly good day. I looked around at all of these people, people who had come from all over the place. And I thought to myself. We are the cutest animals.

We really are. We really are. I looked at every person in there and I said, Oh, my goodness. You woke up in your little habitat or your temporary habitat today and you put on your favorite things. You love those shoes, you love that bag, you love that outfit, and you came here with one of your favorite people maybe are holding their hand, maybe your arms are linked. Maybe you’ve just fallen into step with them without even trying. And you’re looking at things and selecting them to bring them to your home, to bring them into your closet and line them up with all of your other favorite things. And I think that is so cute. And in the parking ramp, I was thinking, Oh, my goodness. Look, everybody here is driving their own little vehicle that’s also filled with stuff. Maybe there’s receipts in there. Maybe there’s old French fries from another day.

I started to kind of see the world around me as a little diorama. A little diorama filled with cute little beings just existing, just living their lives. I don’t always feel like this. Of course I don’t. If you’ve ever encountered me in a crowded Home Depot parking lot. That wasn’t me. That wasn’t me. That was another very tall woman with bleached blond hair that she’s dating. There’s several of us. That wasn’t me. Unless you did not return your card, in which case you deserved it. You deserve everything I said to you, which was nothing. I just gave you very meaningful eye contact while I aggressively returned your card to its place to where it belongs.

But. I have had more days than not recently where I can see the cuteness in people. I can see the cuteness in of all of our little foibles. All of our little habits. People are the cutest animals. It is true. It is true. Look around you today. Look around at yourself. Look around at your little home, maybe. Your little office. All of your cute little things that you’ve selected, that you’ve lined up, some of these things you did not select. Some of these things were just given to you. You know, like a free tote bag.

Today, what is okay is that we are all cute little animals, all living in a habitat together. Doing our cute little things. And I hope you have a cute little animal day.

OUTRO MUSIC

I’m Nora McInerney, and it’s going to be okay, because I’m a cute little animal, and so are you. And I said so. All right, the it, in it’s going to be okay, it changes. Sometimes.It is strange and wacky and sometimes it is wonderful and sincere. It is subject to change. Every day in every way and is different for every person. And I do want to hear yours. I am desperate to hear yours. So please call us and tell us what makes you feel like it’s going to be okay. 612.568.4441. You can also write in, you can write in. And I will do a dramatic reading of your email if you prefer. It is [email protected]. We’ll link that in our show notes too.

This episode was produced by Megan Palmer and Claire McInerney. Our team is Marcel Malekebu. Claire. Megan. Jordan Turgeon. Eugene Kidd, and Larissa Witcher. Our theme music is by Secret Audio. All right, guys, have a good one. 

People love nose noises. People love nose noises. So I sing a little song, a single little song that I made up on the spot. And it’s about nose noises. It’s about nose noises.