Descendent of mermaids

Original art by Judith Parsons Art • San Francisco 2018
Composed with Margaret Parsons in mind. Line 3

Remember the wonder woman commercial from the 90’s, Lynda Carter, coming up from underneath the water? She lifts her face gracefully up from the pool and rises from the water.

It is a slow motion sort of capture. The water is shiny sparkling and dripping magically off her face.

That sort of feeling. That slow motion magical moment happened with my mother and daughter. 

I am certain now that I am descended from the clan of mermaids. As a child, my mother took us swimming. I would watch her like a hawk, the memory of her gliding gracefully through the water has always been in my heart. A soulful memory that reminds me of who I come from. Even as an older woman, when my parents built a pool, she would rise up from underneath the water and have that slow motion “being birthed” look upon her face. She was in her element, she was fluid and whole, or holy.

The grin was immediate, the water had a soothing transformative ability. It truly washed away the stress and static from my mother’s life.

My daughter and I were at the beach a few weeks back and the same magical feeling of “being birthed” happened with Margaret. We were playing like children, we acted like ballerinas and twirled and spun around when the waves lifted us. We frolicked like children do. We let the water transform us.

There were many slow motion moments, when Margaret would rise up from underneath the water. Her hair slicked back all shiny and sparkling. Her smile radiate and pure. We were both children in the ocean. We were in the arms of mother ocean. Jumping and silly in her lolling waves. We were buoyant upon her as we floated and held hands. We were one with our mermaid mothers of years ago.

Connect to your children in the salty waves this summer. Find some magical time to float and play. Make memories that your daughter will always carry in her heart. I am forever changed by that day.

I will leave you with the 3rd line of Margaret’s artist statement: “They direct attention, they chart a path, record a path of time, of before and afters”.

Todays art was created with the watery waves and sparkling transformation moments in mind.