Life is Just a Party: A Decade Without Prince

Ten years ago today, our daughter walked into the room. She could tell something was wrong. Her mom was crying, and I must have looked stricken.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Prince died,” I said.

“Who’s Prince?” she asked.

She was seven years old and not well-versed in the 80s canon of popular music. Since then, we’ve attempted to rectify both our daughters’ cultural education. They know who Prince is now.

Soon they will both be out of high school and on to life. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since Prince was here, then not here. But it has. Time is a fast river. If you move with it, parts of your history get left behind.

The time when Prince walked among us is receding. Who he was, what his life and art meant, are now mixed with our own memories of who we were and what we imagine ourselves to have been.

But today is a good day to remember: Enjoy this life. Reach out to those you love. Have fun. Laugh. Work hard. Make art. And dream.

Because, as Prince told us all, life is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last.

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