R.I.P. Dolly

I wanted to take the time to give honor where honor is due in this blog post.

Yesterday, we lost an icon. They say she had been battling cancer. To say that I hate cancer is an understatement. It has taken so many lives—some I've known personally and some I haven't. Regardless, it is a disease that needs a cure.

Growing up, this woman was such a powerful force for women everywhere. She made it in an industry that, at the time, was overwhelmingly male-dominated. Being a woman in country music wasn't for the faint of heart, and Dolly was by no means someone who would take no for an answer. If someone told her she couldn't do something, she proved them wrong every...single...time!

She was someone I looked up to and admired greatly. I grew up listening to her music and watching her movies. Everyone knew who Dolly was and loved her—even people who weren't particularly country music fans. You just couldn't help but love her.

I remember our very first visit to Dollywood when Tim was 7 years old. What stood out to me wasn't just the park itself, but the way Dolly treated families of those who had served in our military. My husband's parents were able to get five tickets for a fraction of what it would have cost at a place like Disney. Dolly made sure that military families were treated with generosity and appreciation. That meant something to me. It showed me that her heart for people wasn't just something we saw on television or heard in interviews. She found ways to give back and to honor those who had sacrificed for others.

(This was taken in her RV at Dollywood)

There was something so genuine about Dolly. She seemed to love people, encourage people, and bring joy wherever she went. I can't remember a time when I saw her in public and she wasn't smiling or lifting someone else up.

Losing her husband after nearly 60 years together was heartbreaking. When you spend that many years of your life loving someone, a piece of your heart goes with them when they're gone. I thought of that when I heard of her passing. My husband's parents had been together for just as long, if not longer, when they passed away just a little over a year apart from one another. I remember thinking about how deeply intertwined two lives become after so many decades together.

Dolly Parton will forever remain one of my heroes—not simply because of her incredible career, but because of the woman she chose to be throughout it. She broke barriers, opened doors, encouraged generations of women, and used her success to make a difference in the lives of others.

Dolly left her fingerprint on my heart, just as she did on the hearts of so many others.

She will never be forgotten.

There will never be another Dolly.