A friend’s mom passed away this week.
Losing a loved one is a terrible, heart-breaking event. And, in the time of the pandemic, we are hearing about how much harder these difficult times have become.
We are unable to gather. We are unable to embrace and comfort one another in the ways we have done before. And in many cases, we are unable to even say goodbye.
Our mutual friend was the one who passed the sad news along to me. She also had the lovely idea for us all to send cards filled with hearts. So, while we could not be there in person, we could let her know that our hearts were with her and her family.
This art piece transpired from that idea, from my friend herself and from her mother – their “Dancing Queen”. I wanted to celebrate her mom in a way I knew how.
I turned on the famous Abba song and began to doodle and color. When the drawing was complete, I cut hearts from it.
The hand you held 
The celebrations shared 
The wisdom imparted 
The garden tended 
The days and nights spent 
The gifts given 
The tears shed 
The storms weathered 
The love shared 
The dances danced 
The conversations had 
The rock she was
However, I realized that the blocks of paper discarded on the table- the remnants left behind – were actually also representative of what I wanted to communicate.
These frames are grief. Hearts wrenched out, cut from our beings when we lose someone we love.
We can still see the remains of the colorful life we once shared. But now there is a hole. A pain we try our hardest not to feel, while we try to move forward with our own lives.
We pick up the pieces from what remains. Sorting through momentos. Sharing stories with friends and family. Creating our collective picture of a life well-lived. But still, we feel a great absence.
Life is forever changed. We will no longer see their smiles or hear their laughter on this earth.
We will learn to celebrate in this new world we are navigating, looking for the joy in the everyday. And when we do, we know we also celebrate them.
They have left their impressions on our lives. We are a reflection of what we have learned and how we have grown from knowing them.
We are a whole, forever in pieces. And we will live a full life because we knew them.
To my friend who is always lifting others up. Always learning. Always growing. Always sharing.
In honor of your Dancing Queen