Our Rough Draft

About Our Rough Draft

Life is lived in stories. Relationships are built through conversations. We're Denise and Tim. We met while working in Seattle in our twenties and have been writing our story together ever since. Over the years we've built careers, raised three sons, navigated military life, moved from Washington to Arizona, written books, cheered from countless sidelines, and learned that life's biggest lessons are usually found in ordinary conversations. Today, our family is growing in new directions, our two Labrador retrievers keep life interesting, and we're still convinced that summer, travel, sports, and a good story make almost everything better. You'll usually find us around the table with a cup of coffee, a good bourbon, or a glass of wine in hand. Denise tends to notice the meaning woven through everyday moments. Tim naturally looks for the practical lessons and the patterns beneath them. We don't always see the same story in the same way, and somewhere between those two perspectives, a deeper conversation begins. Each week, we start with one simple question and follow it wherever it leads. Sometimes we talk about marriage, family, work, belonging, military life, or the adventures that come with traveling together. Other times we find ourselves laughing, reflecting, or discovering something neither of us expected when we first sat down behind the microphones. We don't have all the answers. We're simply sharing the stories we're still living—and inviting you to bring your own to the conversation. Life rarely unfolds in chronological order. That's why we've organized our conversations by topic instead of episode number (https://www.deniseleighwaters.com/ourroughdraftpodcast)—so you can start with whatever's on your mind today. We call it Our Rough Draft because none of us is finished. We're all still learning, growing, revising, and becoming. Every episode ends with The Question, because we believe the best conversations don't end when the podcast does. They begin around your own table.

Publisher

Tim & Denise

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Sept 2025

Latest episode

20 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

46 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Oct 2026

   What Do We Hope for Our Kids as They Leave Home?

   What Do We Hope for Our Kids as They Leave Home? Denise Waters and Tim reflect on what it feels like to watch their kids step into the world, using a recent college visit for Mason as their starting point. They explore how parents can hold excitement, hope, and worry at the same time—and how differently two people can respond to the same big transition.The conversation grows into a broader reflection on parenting, adventure, and whether the adults in the family are still making room for discovery in their own lives. Key topics Tim’s excitement about the wide-open possibilities ahead, alongside Denise’s practical worries about fit, distance, and logistics. What stood out on a college visit to ASU LA, including its creative spaces for fashion, film, and other arts programs. Why college tours often spark questions about dorms and daily life before parents can take in the larger story of a campus. Whether students should have room to explore and change direction instead of being locked into a narrow path too early. How each parent’s own history can shape the hopes and fears they bring to their children’s futures. Tim’s experience of pursuing a long-held dream by joining the Army—and discovering that some perceived barriers were more manageable than expected. The difference between supporting children’s dreams and projecting your own unfinished hopes onto them. How parents can model curiosity and adventure at any age, rather than only hoping their children will take bold steps. Why talking openly about different perspectives can help couples support one another and avoid future conflict.

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Finding Your People Without Losing the Bigger Picture

   This week, Thatcher joins us for a conversation that starts with social media and sports, then wanders into belonging, democracy, echo chambers, empty nesting, and what it means to build a family people want to come back to. We talk about the difference between connection that keeps us grounded and connection that narrows us, why online spaces can both help and harm, and how real-life communities ask us to practice listening, disagreement, and compromise. Then Thatcher turns the conversation toward our next phase as parents, as Mason gets closer to leaving for college and our family shifts again. At the heart of the episode is a question we keep returning to: where do we find belonging, and how do we make sure it helps us become more fully ourselves instead of smaller versions of ourselves?

3. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Consume & Engage With More Real Life

   In this episode, Denise and Tim talk about publishing, social media, platform numbers, and the ache of putting creative work into the world without always knowing if it is reaching anyone. What begins as a conversation about gatekeeping in publishing becomes a larger reflection on how we engage with each other online and in real life. They talk about likes versus real responses, discussion boards, author communities, algorithms, influencer culture, and the need to “consume more real life.” Along the way, they talk about: why follower counts can feel like a strange measure of worth the difference between consuming and engaging what better online conversations could look like why creators need feedback loops how social media can distort connection what it means to respond when something resonates how to choose more real-life connection this week

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Contact Our Rough Draft

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.