Hi, this is Meg Wallitzer. I love hosting selected shorts. It's so wonderful to bring great stories

read by brilliant performers into your home. What a gift to be able to transport you with beautiful

words to different times and places, even for a little while. There's something magical about

the communal experience of selected shorts. A whole new world comes alive between the storyteller

and the audience. And for a little while, we're all together, going on a journey your ears can

take you on that your eyes can't. So I know why I love it. You have your own reasons no doubt.

These days it feels like our brains are like internet browsers with too many tabs open.

It's hard to focus. If you're listening, it means you relish the chance to slow things down

and be in the moment. To hear one voice telling one story that's bound to make you laugh or cry

or both. Whatever keeps you coming back to shorts, I hope you'll help us keep the show healthy

and thriving with a tax deductible donation. So please visit selected shorts.org and make a donation

today. And thank you. There's an art to both giving and receiving and every holiday season offers

us a new opportunity to understand generosity and gratitude. I'm Meg Wallitzer and on this episode

of selected shorts, fiction that delivers new lessons about dormant, in-laws even a higher power.

Stay tuned.

You're listening to selected shorts where our greatest actors transport us through the magic

of fiction. One short story at a time. It's easy to get swept up in the holidays.

The season brings with it so many appealing associations, family, food, a selfless concern for

fellow humans, and plenty of traditions involving candles, trees, songs, stories, and of course,

gifts. Speaking of gifts, my sister and I were never given Barbie dolls by her parents.

I think it had something to do with the merits of not having something everyone else had.

Instead of Barbie, we were once given Barbie's younger sister, Skipper. And as a result,

...