I have big and exciting news! We’re getting a girl! I can’t say we’re having a girl because that would imply we’ve made one. Kasey’s presence on this earth is all thanks to her parents, Keith and Susie. But we will take full credit for our son, Will, who somehow attracted this amazing woman, wowed [...]
I’m writing this as rain finally falls on the Bighorns. I speak for everyone who has watched the mountains burn; we have never been more excited to see precipitation and cool weather. My gratitude is overwhelming. Often, gratitude follows acts of generosity, evident as we watch friends and neighbors unite to help each other through [...]
I’m pretty sure I’ve packed more travel into my life in the last two months than in the last several years. BK (before kids), I was a traveling fool, and my passport got a workout. Once the first boy arrived and the second one followed, I was fully tethered to them and our local environs. [...]
My niece and I made another pilgrimage to the homeland, Peoria, IL, to visit my dad this week. Not unexpectedly, but still, very sadly, nothing has really changed since he went into the nursing home last October. Our stay allowed me to look around my dad and stepmom’s house with fresh eyes, thinking about the [...]
Welcome back to my column, dear reader! You know that I’ve been covering end of life if you've read my latest submissions. It’s been a tough time. I have good news – this column is happier! This will be a complete send-up of my thought processes and subsequent actions (or lack thereof). If you’ve ever [...]
I was just in Peoria, IL, right after my niece’s extraordinary wedding because my dad had another major stroke in mid-September. He’s currently in a fantastic rehab/skilled nursing facility and doing a lot of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I don’t know if he will ever leave, but at least they’re doing everything they can [...]
Over a drink with some friends the other night, I asked for ideas for this week’s column. One suggested the subject of regret as it pertains to skills your parents attempted to teach you, but you disdainfully waved off at the time. She was particularly disgusted with herself, nigh on these 30 years later, that [...]
If you missed the ads in between the political spots, it's back-to-school time. I have no idea why January, February, and March can’t go by as fast as June, July, and August, but they don’t. It’s a cruel cosmic mystery. My 17-year-old son, Nick, is a senior this year. This is impossible to fathom. I [...]
I’ve recently returned from our youth leadership camp, CampFIRE. Thirty-six incoming high school freshmen from Sheridan and Johnson counties kept Julie, I, and the YMCA camp counselors active and on our toes. It’s a 5-day, 4-night camp up at Camp Roberts above Buffalo, and I am not exaggerating when I estimate that 65-90% of the [...]
March 31 was a big day for my friend, Sandra. When you read this, she will be one of the few, the proud, the voluntarily retired. I know this because she's been making her friends look at the retirement countdown on her phone daily. Sometimes more than that. And once in a while, we'll even [...]
