Vanessa Mitchell

[Behind The Song]
During my family’s viral bucket list story last December that was covered by NBC, ABC, CBS, Inside Edition & The Washington Post, Vicki Quinn was one of the strangers who reached out.

“If you bring him to Las Vegas, I can arrange a UFC fight.”

At the time, my amazing Dad was in the most significant fight of his life so it made sense to go.

This is going to be Vickie’s first Christmas without her husband of 35 years who passed away in his sleep. 😞

Her loss is palpable… She truly is living one day at a time.

We never had a chance to meet on our brief overnight trip to Las Vegas, but even though we didn’t know each other, we began texting almost daily.

As if we picked up a conversation that had simply paused for a while.

Vickie’s resilience as a wife and mother is incredible.

She’s a true proud mama bear of her son, Stephen Quinn: Despite being a quadriplegic due to a rare birth defect, he created a well-respected career within the UFC starting as an intern at age 14 and climbing the ranks to Director of Regulatory Affairs.

Enduring over 35 surgeries before he was 12 years old, Stephen recovered by watching sports.

Both Vickie and Stephen have made a lasting impact on me between her emotional support & kindness, and Stephen’s amazing accomplishments.

And we’ve still never met in person.

The bucket list experience that Vickie & her son coordinated was beyond a UFC fight… the true gift she gave me was quality time with my dad that I’ll never forget.

_______

You don’t really know what to give or say to somebody when they lose their spouse.

The person they saw first thing each morning and each night, only to be replaced by an empty space in their bed.

And the house becomes quiet. So quiet.

A daily reminder of her loss.

_______

Growing up, the only thing I was able to give to others was being creative or doing something thoughtful. I was the kid who gave my parents hundreds of homemade cards, photo collages, and pottery knick knacks (even as I “aged out” of doing those sort of things).

When I was 17, I created a painting of a 5'x5' large, yellow, blooming flower. Someone offered to buy it for $500 (A NON-family member!!) At that time I’d never sold a piece of artwork before so this offer blew me away.

But I didn't sell it…

It was the ONE piece of art I’d made that my dad seemed to genuinely love regardless that I was his daughter.

You know what I mean… the difference between “That’s beautiful, Sweetie” vs. “Wow, that’s actually really good.”

That was enough for me to officially call it ‘Not For Sale’ – My parents have kept it on their wall for 22 years.

And when they moved to a new house, my Dad had it professionally hung in their bedroom as something that could brighten their morning when they awoke each day.

It’s still there.

_______

Back to Vickie.

When I wrote this song inspired by her story, it felt like something I could give her that actually mattered.

I sent her the acapella version and she replied…

“In this unthinkable loss I received 500 flowers, 700 casseroles, many invitations, lots of books on grief, hundreds of cards, letters, and messages. Never did I receive a song that not only is beautiful but encompasses exactly how I feel… silent grief. Thank you will never be enough...”

It was a soundtrack of both our feelings.

Music is a superpower that heals and brings people together.

Vickie gave me unforgettable memories with my Dad, and I gave her a song.

But really, we gifted each other with a friendship when we both needed it the most.

In the months that followed, we've texted countless times.

Lifting each other in the hardest moments.

A cheerleader for our brighter days ahead.

We’ve still never met.

But connection bridges the distance.

If you’d like to listen to the song, I’ve put the link in the comments below.

Introducing ‘ONE DAY AT A TIME.’

If you’ve ever lost someone MAJOR in your life, you will understand these lyrics.


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