To Whitney, With Love

To exhale.

To bow out.

To end a note.

That feeling of emptiness you get when something wonderful comes to an end. 

I never imagined I would be writing this post, but we've lost a national treasure...an icon...a legend; and I've lost a special part of me, a special part of my life. Whitney "Nippy" Elizabeth Houston -- the unprecedented, the incomparable, and one of (if not) THE greatest (female) vocalists of all time. There will never be another.

Style, talent, beauty, and grace; the gold, platinum, and diamond standard for all she represented. A voice so magical; we all wanted to be her. She made her performances seem effortless and fooled many into thinking they could do justice to a "Whitney song." 

Whitney Houston did more than hold a note; she gave it life, filled it with emotion, and told a beautiful story. Oprah Winfrey coined Whitney "The Voice"; as her voice was like magic; fluid, crisp, and multifaceted.  No one could deliver a song like Whitney...she could bend a note like an actress can bend a line. When Whitney sang; you listened...you didn't want to move, you didn't want to breathe. Her audiences respected her vocals and gave most of their thunderous applause only when she paused during a song; often looking out over the audience and smiling. Actress Jenifer Lewis summed it up so perfectly, so beautifully: "When Whitney Houston opens her mouth to sing, she is The 8th Wonder of the World."

In one of her hit songs, she sang 'it would take an eternity to break us; and the chains of Amistad couldn't hold us.' This perfectly describes my adoration and love for Ms. Whitney. Sadly, I never had the honor to meet her, but we're bonded indefinitely through her music and her voice; her talent a permanent pillar of strength and encouragement in life.

Whitney Houston, My Diva: I look to you...I run to you...and I will always love you.

You were loved. You are loved.

Forever and always.  May you rest in peace.

xoxo