📺 🚲 Watching Stranger Things Together — Bedtime Story - A Cozy Night with Friends

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00:00:02,050 --> 00:00:07,560
Welcome to The Slow Life.
I'm Jennifer Vino and I create,

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00:00:07,610 --> 00:00:12,020
narrate and design the
soundscape of this village of

3
00:00:12,030 --> 00:00:15,780
cosy stories to relax and
unwind.

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00:00:16,820 --> 00:00:20,210
Each week I share an original
story.

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00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:25,330
Read 2 times so you can relax
even more during the second

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00:00:25,340 --> 00:00:30,190
reading.
I am introducing printable

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00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,440
greeting cards inspired by the
cozy stories you hear on this

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00:00:35,450 --> 00:00:40,980
podcast.
Go to theslowlife.ca and click

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00:00:40,990 --> 00:00:48,250
Shop on the top menu bar.
Let's settle in with some easy

10
00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:54,660
breathing at your own pace.
With each inhale, let fresh air

11
00:00:54,670 --> 00:00:57,120
fill the space around your
heart.

12
00:00:58,670 --> 00:01:04,560
With each exhale, feel the calm
air spread through your body and

13
00:01:04,569 --> 00:01:11,330
flow out through your arms and
legs, gently in through your

14
00:01:11,340 --> 00:01:19,430
heart.
Gently out through your body, in

15
00:01:19,490 --> 00:01:25,180
through your heart, out through
your body.

16
00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:35,770
And now let's begin.
This story is called Watching

17
00:01:35,780 --> 00:01:41,470
Stranger Things Together, and
it's about the right cushions on

18
00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:47,170
the Chesterfield, being
unexpectedly moved and feeling

19
00:01:47,180 --> 00:01:54,890
safe with friends.
The evening arrives with a small

20
00:01:54,900 --> 00:02:01,110
sense of ceremony, not
elaborate, but arranged in a way

21
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:07,730
that feels carefully chosen.
Outside, the last of the

22
00:02:07,740 --> 00:02:13,750
daylight slips away and the
living room feels extra cozy in

23
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,150
the soft light of lamps and
candles.

24
00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:25,180
My friends are already here,
coats hung near the door, bags

25
00:02:25,190 --> 00:02:31,210
tucked along the wall for later.
We've done this often enough

26
00:02:31,260 --> 00:02:34,180
that we fall into the rhythm
easily.

27
00:02:35,330 --> 00:02:39,020
Kettle clicked on snacks set
out.

28
00:02:39,550 --> 00:02:44,620
Someone adjusting the cushions
on the Chesterfield, knowing who

29
00:02:44,630 --> 00:02:49,740
likes which ones propped behind
their back or tucked under their

30
00:02:49,750 --> 00:02:54,680
arms.
Before we start, we talk for a

31
00:02:54,690 --> 00:02:58,220
bit.
How the week went, Which

32
00:02:58,230 --> 00:03:02,300
challenges were made easier
because we had friends to

33
00:03:02,310 --> 00:03:06,120
listen?
What small joys surprised us?

34
00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:13,470
Nothing heavy most of the time
and no one is rushed, just

35
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,000
easing in to being in the same
room again.

36
00:03:18,410 --> 00:03:21,330
When we're ready, someone
presses play.

37
00:03:22,570 --> 00:03:27,130
We don't choose a different show
or browse for alternatives.

38
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:33,040
Stranger Things is the plan,
because Stranger Things is

39
00:03:33,050 --> 00:03:35,800
always the plan on nights like
this.

40
00:03:37,310 --> 00:03:41,900
It's become part of how we spend
certain evenings together.

41
00:03:43,450 --> 00:03:46,200
We never skip the opening
credits.

42
00:03:46,810 --> 00:03:51,900
Other shows maybe we usually tap
the button without even

43
00:03:51,910 --> 00:03:58,790
thinking, but not this one.
Once the episode begins, the

44
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,370
room shifts into a softer kind
of attention.

45
00:04:03,650 --> 00:04:08,200
We're not trying to be serious,
it just happens on its own.

46
00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:16,160
The synth tone of the theme song
slides in, familiar and steady,

47
00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,370
and the letters drift across the
screen.

48
00:04:21,550 --> 00:04:27,360
No one speaks, but we can't help
but smile and move to the music

49
00:04:27,430 --> 00:04:32,770
each time the sound does
something to the group of us.

50
00:04:33,340 --> 00:04:36,960
Part nostalgia, part
anticipation.

51
00:04:38,370 --> 00:04:43,840
It belongs to the world of the
show, but also to us and these

52
00:04:43,850 --> 00:04:46,620
evenings we've made into a
ritual.

53
00:04:48,290 --> 00:04:54,340
We were kids in the 80s and even
though this isn't our childhood,

54
00:04:54,530 --> 00:04:57,980
the atmosphere brings back old
memories.

55
00:04:59,510 --> 00:05:05,940
Movie rentals, late night TV
sitting on Warren coaches while

56
00:05:05,950 --> 00:05:09,530
adults were in their own space
chatting away.

57
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,790
The blankets are passed from one
of us to another, and someone

58
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:22,290
reaches for a mug and sets it
back down with a small sound

59
00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:27,620
against the table.
One of us reacts to a scene

60
00:05:27,630 --> 00:05:34,240
before we mean to.
A quiet inhale, a held breath, a

61
00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:40,600
quick laugh when the tension
finally eases, when things get

62
00:05:40,610 --> 00:05:44,540
intense.
Someone says half joking.

63
00:05:44,630 --> 00:05:51,050
Remember, it's just a show.
And we nod, feeling both amused

64
00:05:51,060 --> 00:05:56,310
and reassured.
The reminder works every time

65
00:05:57,340 --> 00:06:02,950
the story stays on the screen.
We stay here with each other.

66
00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:10,220
I notice how calm I feel, even
when the scene grows uneasy.

67
00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,040
The room is steady.
The Chesterfield holds us

68
00:06:15,050 --> 00:06:19,110
together.
The lamp casts a warm circle

69
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:25,050
across the rug.
We're adults now, but not so far

70
00:06:25,060 --> 00:06:30,210
from the kids we once were when
the world felt as big as the one

71
00:06:30,220 --> 00:06:35,680
on the show.
Some part of us still recognizes

72
00:06:35,690 --> 00:06:42,380
those emotions, the hesitation,
the loyalty, the friendships

73
00:06:42,390 --> 00:06:45,650
that mean more than we ever say
out loud.

74
00:06:47,510 --> 00:06:51,870
About halfway through, we paused
for an intermission.

75
00:06:52,870 --> 00:06:59,220
We stretch our legs, refill
bowls and cups, wander into the

76
00:06:59,230 --> 00:07:05,170
kitchen and back again.
We talk about a scene, a guess

77
00:07:05,180 --> 00:07:09,860
about what might happen next.
We don't stay away from the

78
00:07:09,870 --> 00:07:13,990
screen for long.
The episode is waiting, and

79
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:20,520
we're ready to return to it.
When we press play again, we

80
00:07:20,530 --> 00:07:25,800
settle in a little deeper.
The quiet focus returns.

81
00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:31,570
I register the scene and
consciously keep the steady flow

82
00:07:31,660 --> 00:07:37,970
in my breathing.
The room remains as it was, cozy

83
00:07:37,980 --> 00:07:42,500
and comforting.
When the episode reaches A

84
00:07:42,510 --> 00:07:47,980
heightened moment, some of us
shift under the blanket, as if

85
00:07:47,990 --> 00:07:54,360
bracing ourselves for a wave.
Then the moment passes and we

86
00:07:54,370 --> 00:08:02,200
exhale almost in unison.
We laugh quietly at the timing,

87
00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,150
knowing that we chose the right
company to be with.

88
00:08:07,870 --> 00:08:12,700
By the time the credits roll,
we've already agreed without a

89
00:08:12,710 --> 00:08:15,530
word that we're going to watch
another.

90
00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:23,210
The names scroll, the room stays
still, and we sit here still

91
00:08:23,220 --> 00:08:28,510
entranced.
First, another intermission and

92
00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:33,669
the talking begins.
Not loud or animated, just

93
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:39,520
thoughtful and curious.
We compare favorite scenes, what

94
00:08:39,530 --> 00:08:46,330
we hope will happen next versus
what we think probably will, and

95
00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:52,660
the most fun, which characters
we see ourselves in or who we

96
00:08:52,670 --> 00:08:57,780
would have been back then if
we'd lived inside a story where

97
00:08:57,790 --> 00:09:00,790
the world bent toward the
extraordinary.

98
00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:07,350
We're honest about what
unsettled us and about the parts

99
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,640
that made us feel unexpectedly
moved.

100
00:09:12,340 --> 00:09:17,850
Our conversation leads to a
deeper connection, the kind that

101
00:09:17,860 --> 00:09:22,370
grows when people share an
experience side by side.

102
00:09:24,020 --> 00:09:30,050
We watch the one and of course
the next, until eventually we're

103
00:09:30,060 --> 00:09:36,040
ready for sleep.
We tidy small things, set plates

104
00:09:36,050 --> 00:09:39,360
in the sink and fold the
blankets loosely.

105
00:09:40,780 --> 00:09:45,240
No one is going home.
That was the plan from the

106
00:09:45,250 --> 00:09:49,450
beginning.
Sleeping bags and spare bedding

107
00:09:49,460 --> 00:09:55,430
come out and the living room now
belongs to rest instead of story

108
00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:00,130
watching.
Before we turn off the lights,

109
00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:05,050
we talk a little more.
Not all about the show this

110
00:10:05,060 --> 00:10:12,560
time, but about other things in
our lives, upcoming plans, small

111
00:10:12,570 --> 00:10:16,170
hopes we hadn't brought up
earlier in the evening.

112
00:10:17,290 --> 00:10:20,530
The conversation drifts, then
settles.

113
00:10:22,020 --> 00:10:26,910
When the light finally clicks
off, the room doesn't feel much

114
00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,650
different.
We're all still here, safely in

115
00:10:31,660 --> 00:10:36,410
the right side up.
We stretch out under blankets,

116
00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:42,070
and the last thing I noticed
before sleep is the familiar

117
00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:48,880
shape of the room in the dark.
Unchanged, familiar, and somehow

118
00:10:48,890 --> 00:10:53,680
comforting after a story that
lives in a world so different

119
00:10:53,690 --> 00:10:59,320
from our own.
Watching Stranger Things hasn't

120
00:10:59,330 --> 00:11:03,730
really transformed our
friendship or turned our lives

121
00:11:03,740 --> 00:11:08,180
upside down.
What it's given us is simpler

122
00:11:08,190 --> 00:11:13,500
than that.
A way to pause and to play, to

123
00:11:13,510 --> 00:11:19,600
share time, to be fully present
in the same space without asking

124
00:11:19,610 --> 00:11:23,100
anything of each other.
But companionship.

125
00:11:24,450 --> 00:11:34,300
And that in itself carries its
own kind of wonder, Watching

126
00:11:34,310 --> 00:11:42,700
Stranger Things together.
The evening arrives with a small

127
00:11:42,710 --> 00:11:48,930
sense of ceremony, not
elaborate, but arranged in a way

128
00:11:48,940 --> 00:11:55,540
that feels carefully chosen.
Outside, the last of the

129
00:11:55,550 --> 00:12:01,560
daylight slips away and the
living room feels extra cozy in

130
00:12:01,570 --> 00:12:04,960
the soft light of lamps and
candles.

131
00:12:06,500 --> 00:12:12,990
My friends are all ready here,
coats hung near the door, bags

132
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:19,030
tucked along the wall for later.
We've done this often enough

133
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,000
that we fall into the rhythm
easily.

134
00:12:23,140 --> 00:12:26,830
Kettle clicked on snacks set
out.

135
00:12:27,380 --> 00:12:32,350
Someone adjusting the cushions
on the Chesterfield, knowing who

136
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:37,550
likes which ones propped behind
their back or tucked under their

137
00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:42,490
arms.
Before we start, we talk for a

138
00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:46,050
bit.
How the week went, which

139
00:12:46,060 --> 00:12:50,130
challenges were made easier
because we had friends to

140
00:12:50,140 --> 00:12:53,940
listen.
What small joys surprised us?

141
00:12:55,280 --> 00:13:01,280
Nothing heavy most of the time
and no one is rushed, just

142
00:13:01,290 --> 00:13:04,810
easing in to being in the same
room again.

143
00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:09,140
When we're ready, someone
presses play.

144
00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:14,930
We don't choose a different show
or browse for alternatives.

145
00:13:15,690 --> 00:13:20,860
Stranger Things is the plan,
because Stranger Things is

146
00:13:20,870 --> 00:13:23,620
always the plan on nights like
this.

147
00:13:25,110 --> 00:13:29,720
It's become part of how we spend
certain evenings together.

148
00:13:31,260 --> 00:13:34,010
We never skip the opening
credits.

149
00:13:34,620 --> 00:13:39,710
Other shows maybe we usually tap
the button without even

150
00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:46,590
thinking, but not this one.
Once the episode begins, the

151
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:50,180
room shifts into a softer kind
of attention.

152
00:13:51,460 --> 00:13:56,010
We're not trying to be serious,
it just happens on its own.

153
00:13:57,770 --> 00:14:03,980
The synth tone of the theme song
slides in, familiar and steady,

154
00:14:04,310 --> 00:14:07,180
and the letters drift across the
screen.

155
00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:15,170
No one speaks, but we can't help
but smile and move to the music

156
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:20,580
each time the sound does
something to the group of us.

157
00:14:21,150 --> 00:14:24,760
Part nostalgia, part
anticipation.

158
00:14:26,180 --> 00:14:31,650
It belongs to the world of the
show, but also to us and these

159
00:14:31,660 --> 00:14:34,430
evenings we've made into a
ritual.

160
00:14:36,110 --> 00:14:42,120
We were kids in the 80s and even
though this isn't our childhood,

161
00:14:42,350 --> 00:14:45,790
the atmosphere brings back old
memories.

162
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:53,750
Movie rentals, late night TV
sitting on Warren coaches while

163
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,340
adults were in their own space
chatting away.

164
00:14:59,300 --> 00:15:04,590
The blankets are passed from one
of us to another, and someone

165
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:10,090
reaches for a mug and sets it
back down with a small sound

166
00:15:10,100 --> 00:15:15,430
against the table.
One of us reacts to a scene

167
00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:22,060
before we mean to.
A quiet inhale, a held breath, a

168
00:15:22,070 --> 00:15:28,410
quick laugh when the tension
finally eases, when things get

169
00:15:28,420 --> 00:15:32,350
intense.
Someone says half joking.

170
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:38,870
Remember, it's just a show.
And we nod, feeling both amused

171
00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:44,120
and reassured.
The reminder works every time

172
00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:50,770
the story stays on the screen.
We stay here with each other.

173
00:15:52,580 --> 00:15:58,040
I notice how calm I feel, even
when the scene grows uneasy.

174
00:15:58,850 --> 00:16:02,860
The room is steady.
The Chesterfield holds us

175
00:16:02,870 --> 00:16:06,930
together.
The lamp casts a warm circle

176
00:16:06,940 --> 00:16:12,870
across the rug.
We're adults now, but not so far

177
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:18,030
from the kids we once were when
the world felt as big as the one

178
00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:23,490
on the show.
Some part of us still recognizes

179
00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:30,190
those emotions, the hesitation,
the loyalty, the friendships

180
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,470
that mean more than we ever say
out loud.

181
00:16:35,310 --> 00:16:39,690
About halfway through, we paused
for an intermission.

182
00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:47,030
We stretched our legs, refill
bowls and cups, wander into the

183
00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:52,980
kitchen and back again.
We talk about a scene, a guess

184
00:16:52,990 --> 00:16:57,670
about what might happen next.
We don't stay away from the

185
00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,800
screen for long.
The episode is waiting, and

186
00:17:01,810 --> 00:17:08,329
we're ready to return to it.
When we press play again, we

187
00:17:08,339 --> 00:17:13,609
settle in a little deeper.
The quiet focus returns.

188
00:17:14,710 --> 00:17:19,380
I register the scene and
consciously keep the steady flow

189
00:17:19,470 --> 00:17:25,780
in my breathing.
The room remains as it was, cozy

190
00:17:25,790 --> 00:17:30,310
and comforting.
When the episode reaches A

191
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:35,810
heightened moment, some of us
shift under the blanket, as if

192
00:17:35,820 --> 00:17:42,170
bracing ourselves for a wave.
Then the moment passes and we

193
00:17:42,180 --> 00:17:50,020
exhale almost in unison.
We laugh quietly at the timing,

194
00:17:50,410 --> 00:17:53,960
knowing that we chose the right
company to be with.

195
00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,510
By the time the credits roll,
we've already agreed without a

196
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,340
word that we're going to watch
another.

197
00:18:04,580 --> 00:18:11,030
The names scroll, the room stays
still, and we sit here still

198
00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:16,320
entranced.
First, another intermission and

199
00:18:16,330 --> 00:18:21,480
the talking begins.
Not loud or animated, just

200
00:18:21,490 --> 00:18:27,340
thoughtful and curious.
We compare favorite scenes, what

201
00:18:27,350 --> 00:18:34,140
we hope will happen next versus
what we think probably will, and

202
00:18:34,150 --> 00:18:40,470
the most fun, which characters
we see ourselves in or who we

203
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:45,590
would have been back then if
we'd lived inside a story where

204
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,610
the world bent toward the
extraordinary.

205
00:18:50,490 --> 00:18:55,170
We're honest about what
unsettled us and about the parts

206
00:18:55,180 --> 00:18:58,450
that made us feel unexpectedly
moved.

207
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:05,650
Our conversation leads to a
deeper connection, the kind that

208
00:19:05,660 --> 00:19:10,190
grows when people share an
experience side by side.

209
00:19:11,830 --> 00:19:17,860
We watch the one and of course
the next, until eventually we're

210
00:19:17,870 --> 00:19:23,840
ready for sleep.
We tidy small things, set plates

211
00:19:23,850 --> 00:19:27,170
in the sink and fold the
blankets loosely.

212
00:19:28,610 --> 00:19:33,050
No one is going home.
That was the plan from the

213
00:19:33,060 --> 00:19:37,260
beginning.
Sleeping bags and spare bedding

214
00:19:37,270 --> 00:19:43,240
come out and the living room now
belongs to rest instead of story

215
00:19:43,250 --> 00:19:47,940
watching.
Before we turn off the lights,

216
00:19:48,330 --> 00:19:52,860
we talk a little more.
Not all about the show this

217
00:19:52,870 --> 00:20:00,370
time, but about other things in
our lives, upcoming plans, small

218
00:20:00,380 --> 00:20:03,980
hopes we hadn't brought up
earlier in the evening.

219
00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:08,340
The conversation drifts, then
settles.

220
00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:14,710
When the light finally clicks
off, the room doesn't feel much

221
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:19,460
different.
We're all still here, safely in

222
00:20:19,470 --> 00:20:24,220
the right side up.
We stretch out under blankets,

223
00:20:24,730 --> 00:20:29,880
and the last thing I noticed
before sleep is the familiar

224
00:20:29,890 --> 00:20:36,700
shape of the room in the dark.
Unchanged, familiar, and somehow

225
00:20:36,710 --> 00:20:41,490
comforting after a story that
lives in a world so different

226
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:47,130
from our own.
Watching Stranger Things hasn't

227
00:20:47,140 --> 00:20:51,550
really transformed our
friendship or turned our lives

228
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,000
upside down.
What it's given us is simpler

229
00:20:56,010 --> 00:21:01,310
than that.
A way to pause and to play, to

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share time, to be fully present
in the same space without asking

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anything of each other.
But companionship.

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And that in itself carries its
own kind of wonder.

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I wish you sweet dreams.