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Saying goodbye to loved ones can be a tender, bittersweet ritual, especially when those goodbyes accumulate over decades. For photographer Deanna Dikeman—known on Instagram as @deannadikeman—documenting these moments became a powerful, long-term project. Over 27 years, she snapped photos of her parents waving farewell in their driveway, culminating in one final image that feels like a punch to the gut.

A 27-year tradition
What began in 1991 as a casual snapshot turned into an ongoing series Dikeman informally called “Leaving and Waving.” Every time she left her parents’ home, she would pause to capture them standing in the driveway, hands raised in a goodbye wave. In an Instagram post shared by @the.pinklemonade, her images spanned from the early ‘90s until October 2017. The collection is currently on display at Réseau L U X (@reseau_lux) in Paris.


“I started in 1991 with a quick snapshot, and I continued taking photographs with each departure. I never set out to make this series. I just took these photographs as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving.”
— Deanna Dikeman

Dikeman explained on her website that it gradually became a ritual for both her and her parents. “It became a story about family, aging, and the sorrow of saying goodbye,” she added.




A heartbreaking turning point
Life took a painful turn in 2009 when Dikeman’s father passed away shortly after celebrating his ninety-first birthday. From that point on, her mother waved alone, with an increasingly sorrowful expression as she watched her daughter drive away. Another shift came in 2017: Dikeman’s mother needed to move to assisted living, so the goodbyes took place at the door of her new apartment.


"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."
— Deanna Dikeman, per The Polygon


Her mother passed away in October of 2017, leaving the driveway tragically vacant for that final photo.

Reflections on a profound goodbye
Dikeman later appeared on the Tamron Hall Show via Zoom, where she conveyed the emotional core of her pictures. She said, “Well, for me, I was able to go back and look at the photographs and see the love in my parents’ eyes. Just one look at those pictures and I saw my dad’s gaze and mom’s 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.”

Emotional responses from social media
Viewers who encountered Dikeman’s photographs shared their own stories and reactions:

  • “Incredible! The time is gone, and the love is forever, but those who stay on this side of life carry the suffering,” wrote @r.ckto.
  • Another commenter, @nurse.nagila, got teary-eyed: “This 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... I know that I should cherish every moment we have left.”
  • @mcchitman added, “This 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.”

A reminder to cherish each moment
Dikeman’s project resonates deeply for anyone who has faced loss or anticipates that final farewell. The quiet act of waving goodbye becomes a testament to love, devotion, and impermanence. Her moving snapshots remind us all to treasure the moments we still have.

You can follow Deanna Dikeman (@deannadikeman) on Instagram for more photography content.

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@masculineessence_

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

An unexpected confrontation caught on camera

Footage captured by a doorbell camera shows three young girls screaming and running inside as the HOA head approaches their house. Moments later, she rings the doorbell, and their father answers. Wasting no time, she immediately makes her demand:

"So, I am going to ask you to keep them inside," she says.

Clearly puzzled, the father responds with a simple but firm question:

"For what reason?"

Her reasoning? Multiple noise complaints from irritated neighbors.

"I have like 10 houses now contacting me. They are like barking at me and running," she explains.

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Dad isn’t backing down

At first, the father tries to reason with her, explaining that his daughters are just playing outside, as kids do. But as the conversation continues, his patience wears thin.

"That's what's wrong with this world because people like you and those other people don't let kids be kids, okay?" he says, his frustration growing.

Not interested in further debate, he firmly ends the conversation with:

"We appreciate you stopping by. Have a nice night."

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The video, captioned "HOA president gets mad at girls for playing," quickly took off online, with thousands of viewers chiming in on both sides of the argument.

TikTok reacts: Is the dad right, or was the HOA head reasonable?

The viral clip sparked a heated discussion, with some siding with the father and others sympathizing with the HOA president.

Some viewers believed the HOA head was being overly strict and that kids should be free to play outdoors.

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"Our neighbors stopped over and said they loved hearing our kids playing and yelling outside… because theirs are all grown and moved out and they miss hearing it."

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Others, however, thought the volume level mattered—especially if the noise was disturbing residents at night.

@syb1375 pointed out that the HOA head had handled the situation calmly, saying:

"She was being respectful and came to reason with him instead of calling the police after getting so many complaints. It’s nighttime… people work in the morning."

Some commenters saw both sides but noted that ten different households complaining was significant.


"Not looking for a fight, but when 10 different households send a noise complaint, that’s a problem. We don’t know what noises they are making, so I can’t really take a side here."
— @Ilovehentaixdd

Meanwhile, @martin_arce acknowledged the HOA head’s position, writing:

"I wouldn’t be rude to her though. His neighbors demand it from her, and she’s gotta do it as her responsibility. And also, your neighbors’ demands aren’t unreasonable."


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