Soft Hearts, Hard Road

Most of us grow up believing life is supposed to get easier as we get older.
But somewhere along the way; usually after enough loss, love, failure, rebuilding, and long drives home in the dark; you realize that isn’t quite true.

Life does not get easier.
We get stronger.
And if we are paying attention, we get softer too.

This space is for the people who are trying to do both.

My name is Rick.
I am a husband, father, builder, thinker, coach, and lifelong observer of human behavior. I grew up shaped by folk songs, gravel roads, soccer fields in the cold, and the quiet kind of philosophy you only learn through living a real life.

Soft Hearts, Hard Roads is not about being right or having answers.
It is about exploring the places where grit meets grace, where vulnerability meets strength, and where the hard roads shape us into people who can still still keep a soft heart.

Here you will find reflections pulled from real life:

• fatherhood
• marriage and love through chaos
• grief and resilience
• soccer and community
• the wild edges of North Idaho
• music that tells the truth
• class, conscience, and the quiet revolutions happening around us
• the small moments that change everything
• the cast iron skillet lessons of life; the layers of seasoning that make us who we are

You will not find performative outrage or empty positivity.
Just one person trying to pay attention, to stay present with the people he loves, and to leave behind something honest for his daughters.

If any of this resonates with you. If you are someone trying to stay soft without falling apart, strong without turning hard, hopeful without being naive; then you are in the right place.

Welcome to Soft Hearts, Hard Roads.
Let’s walk awhile.