we need to talk

This is not going to be one of my funny, light-hearted posts. It’s been five months since my brother Norman died, and I’m still heartbroken. Writing is cathartic for me, so I’m going to get very real with you.

If you didn’t read my last post about Norman, you should. He was a loving, kind, generous, devout man who should be excited about hunting season, spending the holidays with his kids and playing with his beloved grandsons right now. But, on the morning of June 1, he took his own life. My life will never be the same, and I want to do anything I can to prevent others from choosing his path.

Aug 13

sign up to save a life today

good boy

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We said goodbye to Jackson yesterday, and the nest feels very empty right now. It’s been 10 years since we adopted him as an adult, but it seems like yesterday.

At the time, we’d just moved into a new house and were dog-less for the first time since 1986. That lasted about three weeks. I started looking at rescues in the paper, then moved online and spotted an ad for Red, a black lab coming from a kill shelter in Rawlins, Wyoming. His name came from the color of his collar; they had so many black labs that that’s how they identified them.

Jan 02

remembering Mom on her birthday

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I’ve been struggling to write this tribute to Mom for almost a year. She passed away last February, and though I’ve worked on it several times I’ve just now been able to finish it. Since today would have been her 85th birthday, I’d like to share some of what made her so special. Continue reading

Jan 01

New Year’s Greetings from the Nest

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Riding the Paiute Trail

Happy 2017! Facebook has been quite diligent in reminding me weekly that the Tales From the Empty Nest page is woefully inactive, so I thought I’d start the year off with a blog post in hopes that I’m a little more consistent over the next 12 months. No promises, but I’m hoping to spend more time writing this year. Continue reading

Aug 30

30 years go by, in the blink of an eye

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Our rehearsal dinner

Thirty years ago today, I walked down the aisle with this handsome guy. We’d met less than a year earlier, and had a whirlwind romance that had me saying “I do” in the blink of an eye. I was so smitten; I just knew he was the one.

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Scott Gauldin!

Fast forward three decades, and it’s hard for me to comprehend the life that we’ve built, the adventures we’ve had and the family that we’ve created. I’m not sure what I imagined our life would be like, but I couldn’t imagine spending it with anyone else. What a wild and wonderful ride it has been! Continue reading

Mar 23

Celebrating our Colorado anniversaries

for kevin

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Words usually come easy for me, but that is not the case today. My brother-in-law Kevin passed away unexpectedly Thursday night, and I don’t know how to describe how much my heart aches for my sister Julie and their three amazing children. Continue reading

Jul 28

an ode to silly old papa

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Today would have been Dad’s 84^th birthday. He’s been gone 18 years, and I still miss him every day.

It’s difficult to sum Dad up in a few hundred words. He was smart, kind, stubborn, ornery and funny. Very, very funny. He loved learning and was always studying something; the Civil War, philosophy, religion and politics were among his favorite topics. He also laughed until he cried watching the Three Stooges and Peter Sellers movies. Dad always had an opinion, and we always knew what it was. Anyone within hearing distance knew as well. Continue reading

Jul 06

months 10-11: back where we belong

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Black Dog Saloon in New Castle, Colorado

Hacienda el Patron in New Castle, Colorado

Are you “back back?” That’s the question we’re getting a lot these days when we run into friends in Glenwood Springs, and the answer is yes. Our life as vagabonds has come to an end, at least for now. We are settling into a house sans wheels in New Castle, Colorado, nine miles west of Glenwood.

Our original plan was to travel for a year, but we ended up cutting it a little shorter for several reasons. First, we noticed that houses in our price range were starting to sell very quickly. Our house was on the market less than 24 hours before we made an offer! Second, we wanted to be back for our daughter’s college graduation in June. And third, we were homesick. Continue reading