For Life: A Watercolor Painting Portraying Love, Life, and Dancing

Around the first of the year I received a call from my mother. She called to ask me if I would consider doing a commissioned painting for her – a painting that she wanted to have done for my dad for Valentine’s Day.

Wait, what?!?

Valentine’s Day

Okay, so a little background knowledge: I honestly cannot remember a time my mom got anything for my dad for Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, Mom is very loving, kind, thoughtful, and she always helped my brothers and me prepare all of those little Valentine’s Day cards and treats we exchanged in elementary school. She just didn’t seem too keen on making a big deal out of Valentine’s Day.

Dad, on the other hand, always bought my mom chocolates or flowers – sometimes both. He never missed the chance to give my brothers and me a small bag of conversation hearts (they were my favorite), cherry jelly hearts, and a few chocolates. In my mom’s defense, Dad has a sweet tooth just like I do – thank goodness – so, any reason to celebrate with candy is a good reason. Anyhow, it was now Mom’s turn to get Dad a special Valentine’s Day gift.

The Dance

Mom already had a solid idea for the painting: she wanted a painting of a pair of dancing sandhill cranes. The reason? My parents have a pair of sandhill cranes who return to the family farm every spring. Since sandhill cranes mate for life, the very same pair returns to the farm and have since become accustomed to my parents being around. The large 4-5′ birds start the spring off by engaging in a fancy courtship dance. Both birds jump, twirl, and bounce on their gangly legs with outstretched wings. The males often pick up any item they can get their beaks on and toss it up in the air to further impress the female. This dance will continue until the female finally lays down to nest. Observing the cranes has become a passion of my parents. If you have the chance to talk to them about their cranes someday – please do. they have some amazing stories to tell.

I’ll never forget one sandhill crane story my mom told me over the phone one late spring day. She had been updating me for the past two month about the cranes that arrived once again, how she thought the female was nesting because she hadn’t seen her in a bit, how excited my parents were to see the new baby chick arrive one day, and how something went wrong.

Drenched in Sorrow

Mom wrote:

SANDHILL CRANES 2017… It was 6:30 am on a rainy midsummer Wednesday morning.  I walked into our living room and noticed the sandhill cranes were drenched with rain,  standing in one place and stared at me.  They had a posture of defeated sadness; their chick was not with them.  The parents stood in the pouring rain, not moving for 4 hours!  Afterwards, they only moved within a 20 foot radius to search for their chick.  This standing and searching went on constantly for 2 days.  Even after that, the pair would occasionally come back and look for their lost chick.

A heartbreaking story I’ll never forget, and I’m sure an image my parents will never unsee. My parents prayed that the sandhills would show up again the following spring, and they did just that. The pair showed up, danced, and raised a new little baby on the farm.

Love

Life as a couple is full of ups and downs, but with a little work, love always prevails. My parents have taught me this. Just last week I had a conversation with Dad about relationships and parenting, and he told me something that meant a lot. He said that he was raised to believe that the best thing a father can give to his children is to love their mother. Little did Dad know that he’d be getting a painting in about a week that portrayed my mother’s love for him – an appreciation for the love he’s shown her for almost 50 years.

“For Life”

My dad was thoroughly confused when I handed him a box saying that it was a Valentine’s Day gift from Mom this past week. He opened the box, carefully unwrapped the painting, and read the title card on the back of the painting:

“For Life”

My mom had picked out the perfect title. When Dad first saw the painting a large open-mouthed grin spread across his face. “Wow! These sandhill cranes are in our yard in front of our corn field!” he said. “This is the best Valentine’s Day gift!”

Mom texted me later on that evening before she went to bed. The text read:
“Hi Erin, thought I’d give a few more thoughts on ‘For Life.’ The obvious, to be partners for life. Then, the gift of life through a chick. And lastly, the dance. The dance is beautiful, pleasing, graceful and silent. Fun things to think about… thanks again.”

Thank you Mom and Dad, for gifting me the love you have for one another. Thank you for allowing me to do this very meaningful painting for you. Thank you for being you. But most of all, continue enjoying your dance – “For Life”.