A Thousand Tiny Steps

This podcast is for people who want to experience personal growth. Finding joy in tragic moments is a difficult task, but by listening to the stories of an ordinary woman who goes through extraordinary experiences, you can learn how to get through anything. Hear stories from Barb Higgins, the woman who had a baby at 57, lost her daughter to a brain tumor, dealt with addiction, and so much more. Inside each episode, Barb shares a story from her life and how she got through each tough experience. From lessons learned to how she took her self-care to another level, Barb pulls you into her world of inspiring circumstances and leaves you wondering, how does she do it?

Trauma in Every Decade 08/04/2026

Bill Luti's Race in Concord 07/28/2026

After Molly: Heaven and Belief 07/21/2026

The Price of Settling 07/14/2026

Generation Jones: Caught in the Middle 07/07/2026

You Have A Reason to Celebrate 06/30/2026

I Broke 5 Minutes in the Mile. Then I Watched the Tape. 06/23/2026

My Interview on The Human Experience 06/16/2026

Running Taught Me to Love My Body 06/09/2026

What Does Consent Mean to You? 06/02/2026

Learning to Break the Silence 05/26/2026

The Number 13 is Sacred 05/19/2026

Treat Yourself Like your Best Friend 05/12/2026

Visiting France with Gracie 05/05/2026

Memories of the Boston Marathon 04/28/2026

Lady Justice and the Sisterhood of the Crones with author Jennifer Speidel 04/21/2026

Gracie's in France! 04/14/2026

Molly’s Been Dead for 10 Years 04/07/2026

Not Ready to Step Aside 03/31/2026

Not Ready to Step Aside I’ve been thinking a lot about aging… and purpose… and what it means to still matter. This is where I’m at right now. Connect with me: Transcript: This is a man with an incredibly high IQ who helped thousands of children in his years as an educator. When I called him up to thank him, he cried, and he said, it's just so nice to feel needed. My good friend David, it's like he's fighting an uphill battle all the time. And, and he remembers that aspect of himself. He is definitely still wanting to contribute to society. He was super helpful with me last week on a school board issue, and so this hurts me, and makes me sad and I'm surrounded by it. I'm now caring for my mother. So I have an older person for whom I have great love, that lives with me. And, and the more I watch her, the more I see where she's, you know, beginning the long walk home, right? Where she's struggling physically, it's a reminder that there's a lot she just can't do by herself. Then I look at Kenny, who's 70, he'll be 71 in September, and all of the myriad health issues he's had, and I worry, am I expecting too much of him? I wake up at night and I'm worried. I have a body that's already showing signs that it isn't what it used to be. I'm 62. I'll be 63 in July. So I'm clearly at a place in life, where I have far less ahead of me than behind me. I just need, support, in my role as an aging human with a little boy and a caretaker to people who are aging much faster than I am. I know on the school board. I'm just another person who doesn't wanna let go of the past. I should move on and let the people 20 years younger than me take over and acknowledgement that I'm not ready to be here. I'm not ready to step aside, nor should I. I have two really good friends from high school. They just don't ever stop remaining connected to their families and my family, we connect, but not at all like these families do. When I wake up in the middle of the night because it's a lot of self-reflection to have I lived a good life? Am I ready to be where I am? You know, if I had not had Jack, what would I be doing? And, I never once didn't think about my age when it came to having Jack, but that was such, that was such a spiritually, emotionally driven time and decision that I know I was supposed to do, that I feel that Jack is my purpose and so he'll help me stay healthy physically and mentally and emotionally and all that - his existence, not him. What am I satisfied with and what do I regret? And of course, someone like me is going to constantly focus on the regret, on the regrets. All the races I lost, all the people I hurt, all the things I failed at, rather than making a list of the things that I accomplished. If I had not had the life I had, would my now time be different? I look at my mother and how, somehow she's living here and like it or not, I'm probably gonna have to rearrange a lot of my house to accommodate her needs sooner than later. She fell yesterday and, you know, banged up her ankle and her skin just cuts open. The skin just gets so thin. I hate when she falls, it scared the crap outta me. The sound of her voice when she was calling for me, she was scared. It reminded me of when we had to walk down Mount Madison in the pitch black when I was seven. She had a tone in her voice that had fear in it. It scared the crap outta me. And I heard it yesterday. Here I am: still wanting to set goals, still wanna go to the CrossFit games. Still want a million people to buy Molly's book. You know, I still want so many things, like I matter, like I'm contributing. I’m not ready to not contribute. I'm at an age where it might be time for me to rethink about what I want. Not give up, not let go, just shift and recreate and see what the world has to offer. I'm pondering my life as somebody old enough to collect social security - on one level, but young enough at heart and body and mind to kick ass in a CrossFit gym on a pretty regular basis. So you know, who am I and why am I here? {OUTRO} I sit out here on my porch a lot and I think about all of this. Usually, it just turns into an episode. But if you wanna sit with me a little longer, I write some extra thoughts down and they end up in my newsletter. Credits: Free music by OlexandrMusic /episode/index/show/athousandtinysteps/id/40677420

He Didn't Know Me 03/24/2026

He Didn't Know Me I didn’t know what to do. This is a story about the first time I realized something wasn’t right… and how long that moment stays with you. Connect with me: Transcript: It was a sunny summer afternoon in 1979. I was wearing a gold polyester uniform. I was a waitress at Weeks Family Restaurant. It was my first actual real job, and I loved it. Interacting with people, talking to people you would never talk to. I loved the people I worked with. As I looked toward the front of the restaurant, I saw a gentleman come in and sit at the counter. So I went down to give him a menu and see if he wanted coffee or a glass of water. It was my Grampy Max. I said, “hi, Grampy Max!” and he grinned at me. I didn't notice anything at first. “Max, it's me. It's Barbie!” I said to him, to which he responded with a very flirty, inappropriate reply about Barbie dolls. I was looking at somebody I knew and they had no idea who I was. And saw me not as - a grandchild but as, as someone to flirt with. I'm one day post funeral for a neighborhood mom. Neil's mother's name was Mary. Mary was your classic stay at home mom that opened her home to everybody. She lived in three different houses on one block, right near Whites Park in Concord. So I went to the calling hours and I was talking to Neil, and I said, “how are we here? How are we here? I wish it was 1980” and he said, “I wish it was 1987” and that was the year both of us would've been juniors and seniors in high school. We just wanted to go back to a time where we felt grown up enough to enjoy the grownup things. You know, sneaking beer in a field, I guess, but young enough that our whole life was ahead of us. And I know for me, and I think it's true for a lot of people, the aging process happens quickly and all of a sudden you find yourself: caring for my mother. The more I watch her, the more I see, where she's, you know, beginning the long walk home, right? Where she's struggling physically, where she's struggling emotionally, and, and it's a reminder that - there's a lot she just can't do by herself, and that's just the reality of it. Then I look at Kenny, who's 70, he'll be 71 in September. Am I expecting too much of him? Does he sleep late in the morning 'cause he is just exhausted, not because he's trying to be a jerk? Am I asking too much of him around Jack? He has such a good rapport with Jack, but I, I just notice and watch now. I'm watching how things change and they change subtly so you don't notice it right away. This hurts me and makes me sad and I'm surrounded by it. And I was dumbfounded. I was 15 years old, just about to turn 16, and I was horrified - paralyzed. The manager of the restaurant watched this interaction and came over to scold Max, my Grampy, and I said, no, no, no, wait. And walked away with him and told him that it was my step-grandfather, that he didn't know me. We should call my grandmother, which we did, and she came down and got him. She didn't realize he left the house. I was looking at somebody I knew and they had no idea who I was. I didn't know what to do. [OUTRO] I wrote all of this down later, on a crumpled, coffee stained napkin. If you want to see it, it’s in my newsletter. I hope you like it, Grampy Max. Credits: by Clavier-Music /episode/index/show/athousandtinysteps/id/40601840

Underestimated, Overlooked, and Outcast 03/17/2026

What Street Am I On? 03/10/2026

Life Gives More Questions Than Answers 03/03/2026

Karma is Fake 02/24/2026

What is Family? 02/17/2026

Move Over Boomer! I’m a Jones. 02/10/2026

Barb (okay, Boomer) V.S. Gen Z Gracie 02/03/2026

Barb (okay, Boomer) V.S. Gen Z Gracie One Boomer. One Gen Z. Who will prevail? In this battle of wits both generations hash out what Riz means, how to use a landline, and if crop tops were truly a move forward in fashion. It’s going to get groovy - with a little turbulence! So hold on to your seats, sit back, put your oxygen mask on first, and enjoy the episode. Key Takeaways: [2:02] How did you find info without the internet? [3:28] Slang: cap, riz, stand on business [6:32] Did you have to rewind a VHS or use a payphone? [7:39] What’s a Tamagotchi? [8:04] How did you entertain yourself on a Saturday morning? [9:50] Were you a latchkey kid? [11:53] How much time do you spend socializing online vs in person socializing? [15:01] Did you have to use a landline? [15:52] How do you feel about being constantly connected with social media? [22:10] What’s the most memorable 80s/90s fashion trend you wore? [24:05] What’s a fashion trend that’s been brought back in popularity? [26:31] What is a walkman and did you have one? [28:02] Who are the biggest influencers in your life? [31:58] What was your first job and how did you apply for it? [35:03] What’s most important in your future career: money, purpose, or balance? [39:05] What is a Rolodex and what is it used for? [40:21] How do you approach talking about mental health in the workplace? [41:36] Generation Gap Trivia: name 3 members of the Spice Girls [42:27] Can you identify a popular TikTok or 80s movie star? [44:45] What was the most significant invention in your lifetime? [46:24] How did you keep in touch with friends without a phone? [46:53] What was your favorite childhood movie, book, or show? [49:33] What age did you think was old when you were a teenager? [50:45] What is the most pointless app on your phone and why? [51:26] What is a fashion trend you think is ridiculous? [53:32] If you had to live without a piece of technology for a week, what would it be? [54:11] What is the biggest misconception about your generation? [56:04] What do you think is uncool about your parents' generation? [58:33] What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? [59:28] If you could go back to any era, which one would it be? [1:02:39] What’s a family tradition you hope to pass on? [1:03:14] What’s something we could teach each other? [1:05:08] What’s a movie you wish you could watch for the first time again? [1:06:57] What’s a floppy disk? [1:07:15] What’s a pager? [1:07:45] What did one use 6*7 when making a phone call? [1:07:57] What’s a BOPIT? AOL? WWW? [1:08:58] What’s My Little Pony? American Girl Dolls? Easy Bake Oven? Napster? [1:10:36] Who are the characters of Friends? Gwen Stefani? Fanny packs? [1:11:42] What’s an overhead projector? Mimeograph machine? [1:13:36] The biggest difference between our generations [1:15:30] If you had to describe your generation, how would you? [1:20:47] What generational divide did we forget? Connect with Barb: /episode/index/show/athousandtinysteps/id/39959270

Taking Care of My Aging Mother 01/27/2026

My Most Impactful Guests 01/20/2026

I'm Motherless 01/13/2026

A Thousand Tiny Steps

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