A Daughter's Love Letter: In Memory of My Mom Darlene Sluga

In Memory of Darlene Sluga

My beautiful mom died suddenly in 2007. She was dedicated, hilarious, playful, active and loving in a big way. She loved to dance, she loved soap operas, and she adored John Denver, which I could not stand as a kid. She sang around the house. She gave food to homeless people she passed in our town. She was a nurse before we were born, then a stay at home mom, and she was late often because of everything she was carrying. I wish society had supported her more effectively.

She was the reason I practiced for piano lessons, recitals, competitions. I could not have done any of it without her belief in me. Now that I have my own kids, I feel in my bones what she put into us.

This fund supports YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, which helps women and families across Chicagoland with counseling, childcare resources, and legal advocacy. Every $100 raised covers an hour of counseling for a survivor.

In remembrance of my beautiful mom, I'm sharing this donation link on my Country Roads Cover instead of a tip jar. If something I played reached you, this is where I would rather your money go.

Thank you for reading.

I've been exercising my musicianship in preparation for potential upcoming opportunities and because moms also deserve to make time for self care and art and I wanted to focus my energy into doing something in remembrance for her and to help support all girls, women, and mothers going through challenging seasons too many of us face in this life.

If you'd like to hear the John Denver cover song I recorded and uploaded in honor of her contributions in my life check out the youtube video on my linktree here: https://linktr.ee/heathersingstheblues?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=c86ba3e6-2245-4b72-bad9-14eee56ac572

(View the video description for more about my mom)