{"id":488930,"date":"2026-06-08T12:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488930\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:04:14","slug":"woman-captures-her-parents-waving-goodbye-to-her-for-27-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488930\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman captures her parents waving goodbye to her for 27 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most people, losing a parent<\/a> is one of the most heartbreaking events in a person\u2019s life. Whether you have a complicated relationship<\/a> or a super solid one<\/a>, saying goodbye to those who gave you life and molded you into who you are is a big deal.<\/p>\n

After a parent\u2019s passing<\/a>, it\u2019s common to look for photos of them, to remember them in various stages of their life, but photographer Deanna Dikeman, who goes by @deannadikeman<\/a> on Instagram, took that idea several steps further than most. Over 27 years, she documented her parents in a series of photographs<\/a> of them waving goodbye to her in their driveway every time she left after a visit.<\/p>\n

How a simple goodbye became a 27-year project<\/p>\n

The photographer\u2019s project started in 1991 and continued until October 2017. Dikeman shared a post on her Instagram account featuring the series of photographs, which went on display at R\u00e9seau LUX (@reseau_lux<\/a>) on 7 November 2024 in Paris under the title \u201cLeaving and Waving.\u201d <\/p>\n

The series has since been exhibited in 16 countries<\/a>, and in 2025 it traveled to the National Museum of World Cultures in Mexico City. Dikeman, a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, also published a second photobook, Relative Moments<\/a>, in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started in 1991 with a quick snapshot, and I continued taking photographs with each departure,\u201d Dikeman wrote on her website<\/a>. \u201cI never set out to make this series. I just took these photographs as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving. It gradually turned into our goodbye ritual and became a story about family, aging, and the sorrow of saying goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

The series was named one of the top 25 stories of 2020<\/a> in The New Yorker.<\/p>\n

The photo that changed everything<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2009, there is a photograph, where my father is no longer there. He passed away a few days after his ninety-first birthday,\u201d Dikeman elaborated, per The Polygon<\/a>. \u201cMy mother continued to wave goodbye to me. Her face became more forlorn with my departure. In 2017, my mother had to move to assisted living. For a few months, I photographed the goodbyes from her apartment door. In October of 2017, she passed away. When I left after her funeral, I took one more photograph of the empty driveway. For the first time in my life, no one was waving back at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the photographs were compiled and reposted in order by @the.pinklemonade<\/a> on Instagram. Dikeman was also invited for an interview at the Tamron Hall Show, where she shared more details about her poignant series of pictures and a message she wanted to pass on to people who have seen her photographs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, for me, I was able to go back and look at the photographs and see the love in my parents\u2019 eyes,\u201d she told Hall over a Zoom interview. \u201cJust one look at those pictures and I saw my dad\u2019s gaze and mom\u2019s kind of crumpled face sometimes and I knew how they felt. I knew what I meant to them and I am hoping that I can show the world what they meant to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the comment section of the post<\/a> on Dikeman\u2019s page was full of people pouring out their emotions. @r.ckto<\/a> wrote, \u201cIncredible! The time is gone, and the love is forever, but those who stay on this side of life carry the suffering.\u201d @nurse.nagila<\/a> shared, \u201cThis brought tears to my eyes because, as a parent, my husband and I always stand outside our home and wave goodbye to our kids and grandkids. My parents now live with us and they are in their 70s and I know that I should cherish every moment we have left.\u201d @mcchitman<\/a> added, \u201cThis is amazing. I wish I could go back and do this with my mother. She blew me a kiss from the garage door every day that I left the house for 33 years. The first time leaving with no kiss goodbye was incredibly difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can follow Deanna Dikeman (@deannadikeman<\/a>) on Instagram for more photography content.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.\n<\/p>\n