Art to Help with Letting Go

Last spring, I discovered Heidi Matherne and her creative studio, and it resonated with me.

I had recently started to go through all the childhood artifacts from our family. Art projects, letters, little notes and hand drawings. I was struggling to know what to do with everything – how to keep or display.

After looking at Heidi’s portfolio, I decided to invest in a custom Kiddeaux Collage. I was added to her wait list, and then in December, I sent my beloved selections from all the kids to her studio.

She was an absolute delight to work with, and I am thrilled with my new artwork that I will now always cherish.

In her shipment with the collage, Heidi included a note that read:

“When you’re having a bad day stop and read these sweet letters from your kiddeauxs.”

That may seem like a basic message, but it hit me powerfully.

Everyone has bad days – that is what it means to be human.

My bad days typically, though, are tied to when my children are in pain or dealing with a challenging time.

When something is wrong, mothers often know—not always how they know, but they know.

Logically, I know that my children are young adults and teenagers and I can’t fix everything for them.

But as usual, the heart is taking longer to catch up with my head.

No matter who or what is causing the challenge for my child, there is an element of me that wants to make it better.

I am working on the fact that holding a child’s pain no longer means solving it.

It means witnessing it without absorbing it.

Trusting the strength that was formed within them over years of support and love and giving space to develop important coping skills to help throughout their lives.

So, wish me luck on this ongoing journey.

And a huge thanks to your beautiful work, Heidi. I will be looking at my artwork on both bad and good days to come.