One Month Later and Still Hard To Believe
This was my post last month 8/25/26 …
MASCARA RUNNING. HAIR DROPPING. RHINESTONES EVERYWHERE. 💄💎
Because apparently Heaven needed a headliner.
On August 25, 2026, we said goodbye to our beloved Dolly Parton at 80 years young. And honestly… I am not emotionally prepared for this.
Oh, to love and be loved like Dolly Parton.
We didn't just lose a country music legend.
We lost an angel with a six-foot wig, a rhinestone budget, a guitar, a sense of humor, and enough heart to fill the entire state of Tennessee.
Dolly was more than a performer. She lived her performance as art.
She wore the big hair.
She wore the eyelashes.
She wore the rhinestones.
She wore the heels.
She wore the cleavage. 😂
And she wore her heart right there on her sleeve like her career depended on it.
And somehow, underneath all that glamour was one of the smartest women to ever do it.
Dolly came from humble beginnings in Tennessee and turned a little voice, a big imagination and a whole lot of determination into a career spanning music, movies, television, business, fashion, theme parks and philanthropy. She became a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, a country music icon and one of the most beloved entertainers America ever produced.
But what made Dolly extraordinary wasn't simply that she became famous.
She became useful.
She used her gifts.
And then she shared them.
She founded the Dollywood Foundation and created the Imagination Library, which grew from a program in her Tennessee hometown into a global literacy effort that has distributed more than 300 million books to children.
She helped families devastated by the 2016 Tennessee wildfires.
She supported medical research.
She gave $1 million toward COVID-19 vaccine research.
She invested in children, education, communities and people who needed a little help getting back on their feet.
And THAT is the Dolly lesson I hope we women don't miss.
Because Dolly taught us that you can be smart AND beautiful.
You can be glamorous AND generous.
You can make money AND make a difference.
You can wear enough hairspray to potentially affect the ozone layer 😂 and still have enough humility to remember where you came from.
You can build an empire without losing your softness.
You can be loved without becoming someone's possession.
You can be feminine without making yourself small.
And you can absolutely make a ridiculous amount of money with a rhinestone-covered guitar if you have the talent, the nerve and a good business plan.
Dolly understood something many of us spend our entire lives trying to figure out:
Your gifts are not just for you.
Your voice is for somebody.
Your creativity is for somebody.
Your story is for somebody.
Your business can employ somebody.
Your success can open a door.
Your money can fund something.
Your knowledge can teach somebody.
Your beauty can inspire somebody.
Your life can make somebody else's life a little easier.
Dolly didn't just ask, "What can I get from this gift?"
She seemed to constantly ask, "What can I give with it?"
And she gave A LOT.
So while we're crying, I'm also taking notes.
Because if Dolly Parton taught us anything, it's that soft living doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing.
Soft living can look like building your dream, getting paid properly, taking care of your people, looking fabulous, laughing at yourself, loving hard and giving generously.
Basically:
Get the money.
Get the hair.
Get the house.
Get the man—if you want him.
Get the rhinestones.
Get the vacation.
Get the damn lipstick.
But don't forget to use whatever God gave you to make somebody else's life better.
That's the part of Dolly I will remember most.
Not just the songs.
Not just the movies.
Not just the hair.
Not just the boobs.
Although, Lord knows, those boobs deserve their own Smithsonian exhibit. 😂
I will remember the heart.
The humor.
The generosity.
The business mind.
The courage.
The kindness.
The woman who refused to let poverty determine her future.
The woman who could walk into a room looking like a human Christmas ornament and somehow make everybody feel at home.
That's a gift.
And that's why Dolly's beauty was always deeper than skin.
She didn't just make herself beautiful.
She made the world around her a little more beautiful.
So tonight, somewhere beyond those pearly gates, I hope Dolly walked through Heaven's front door and immediately asked where the stage was.
I hope somebody handed her a microphone.
I hope the angels have learned the words.
And I hope Heaven has enough hairspray.
Because if not…
they are about to learn. 😂💇♀️✨
May she sing in the heavens.
May she rest peacefully.
May her music continue to travel from generation to generation.
And may every woman who admired Dolly remember the assignment:
Be smart.
Be beautiful.
Be loved.
Use your gifts.
Build something.
Give something.
Live softly.
Love loudly.
And leave something beautiful behind.
Rest well, Dolly.
We didn't lose a legend. We gained an angel.
And honey…
Heaven better have a rhinestone microphone. 💎🎤✨
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