Relationships

Incoming messages from the Love Letters phone booth

This week: A phone booth special feature, a conversation about IFS therapy, and a farewell to another classic Boston bar.

Kelly Chan/Boston.com

By Meredith Goldstein

2 minutes to read

You’re reading Meredith Goldstein’s Love Letters newsletter. Each week, Meredith shares tales of human connection, thoughts on public policy and relationships, and behind-the-scenes stories about the Love Letters column and podcast. Sign up to get the dispatch.

Doing my best today. 

I just returned from a family reunion vacation – a  first for our family. We were a bunch of loved ones in matching T-shirts. We got on a boat, played games, and, for the first time in many years, remembered what it was like to be cousins in the same room.

I’m still on West Coast time and already longing for California weather. Boston will get it soon enough, I hope.

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Amid my jetlag, some items for the week:

Incoming messages

I’ve said plenty to this audience about the Love Letters phone booth at the Boston Public Library. Many have asked, “What do people say when they pick up the phone?” Today you can find out. We’ve released a podcast episode all about the phone booth, with many messages and a few theories about who says what when they’re given a payphone and some privacy. Enjoy the stream-of-consciousness monologues of people from all over. Find the episode wherever you get podcasts. (Or click right there.)

Therapy speak

Speaking of podcasts, I was a guest on Pop Therapy, a great podcast by Omar Torres. Omar, a therapist, invites guests to join him for a conversation about their emotions – and pop culture. He and I delved into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which many compare to the movie “Inside Out.”

Pictured (L-R): Fear (Bill Hader), Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) in the 2015 animated film INSIDE OUT, directed by Pete Docter. Some say 

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We also talked about the psychology of being compared to a “Sex and the City” character. When I started Love Letters, people said, “She’s Boston’s Carrie Bradshaw!” And I said, “In these sneakers and sweatpants?” Truly, I felt like joining Omar was free therapy – on mic. Lots of laughter and good pop culture recommendations. Find the episode on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Closing time

Everyone should welcome Esther Mobley, the new food editor at The Boston Globe. She is a delight – and I know she understands what we do at Love Letters, because check out her romantic headline on a story about another classic Boston bar closing. Esther understands that bars are often places where we hoped to find love … and sometimes did.

All good

I appreciated yesterday’s letter from someone who is in a good relationship and worried that the other shoe will drop. Many of us worry about shoes falling from the sky. But as I just learned in California, sometimes skies (real and metaphoric ones) are clear and lovely.

Remember, you can send your own question about your relationship life to [email protected] or feel free to use the very anonymous form.

Fashionistas

I’ll leave you with a picture of my reunion uniform. For those who don’t know, mishigas, which can also be spelled with an “e” (and other ways), is Yiddish word that has evolved into a way to say… emotional messiness. Baggage. Sometimes … irrationality. 

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We meant it with love for ourselves and others.

– Meredith

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