A photographer captured her parents waving goodbye from their driveway for 27 years, documenting their unchanging love through changing seasons until their final farewells in Sioux City, Iowa.
God blessed us with parents to guide us, love us, and wave us off as we journey through life. When we look back, it’s these everyday moments of love – like a simple wave goodbye – that stay in our hearts forever and shape who we become.
Each time Deanna visited her parents, Jerry and Pat Dikeman, at their bright-red ranch house in Sioux City, she made sure to capture that final moment.
It started in 1991, after they sold her childhood home and moved to their new house. There, Jerry spent happy hours tending his tomato garden after retiring from his job as a traffic manager. Pat filled their home with warmth, cooking her special fried chicken and baking fresh rhubarb pies.
Each time Deanna visited, the goodbye followed the same pattern. She’d get in her car, roll down the window, and take a photo as her parents stood together, waving.
Pat would sometimes say, “Oh, Deanna, put that thing away,” but she and Jerry always came outside to wave. Through spring flowers and winter snow, through sunshine and rain, they never missed their goodbye ritual.
The camera caught every change – different clothes, graying hair, slower steps – but their loving smiles stayed the same.
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The last photo of Jerry came in August 2009. He stood beside Pat, holding onto his quad cane, still managing to raise his hand in farewell. He passed away after celebrating his 91st birthday.
Pat kept their tradition alive, though Deanna noticed her mother’s smile carried more sadness now. When Pat moved to assisted living in 2017, she waved from her apartment door until she too passed away that October.
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After her mother’s funeral, Deanna took one final photograph – an empty driveway where her parents once stood. “For the first time in my life, no one was waving back at me,” she shared, words that touch the heart of anyone who has felt the ache of losing a parent.
Deanna gathered these precious photos into a collection she named ‘Relative Moments,’ documenting her family’s life from 1986 onward.
What started as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving became a beautiful story of love, family, and the pain of saying goodbye. “I never set out to make this series,” Deanna shared. “I just took these photographs as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving.”
Let’s honor our families by cherishing every moment God gives us together. When we wave goodbye to our loved ones, let’s remember Deanna’s photos and the love they capture.
Maybe we too should take more pictures, write more notes, or simply pause longer in those farewell moments. Each goodbye is precious – a chance to say “I love you” one more time.
May we never take these moments for granted, knowing they become the memories that sustain us through our grief and joy.
WATCH: Woman Captures Her Parents Waving Goodbye for 27
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