Aaron Draplin is an incredibly talented and prolific graphic designer, and I’m a huge fan. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak a few years back. Even got to shake his hand (solid, warm grip), get a signed South Cackalackee Draplin poster, and grab a photo with him. He was as great in person as I had imagined him to be. Who lives up to that? Awesome.

I follow Aaron’s blog and work, and like all of his friends and fans, I was shocked and saddened to hear the news of his Dad’s sudden passing last October.

If you’ve been on this site before, you know I did a lot of writing about my Dad after he died in 2009. I did a lot of reading, too. All, I suppose, in an attempt to make sense of his death, his life, my feelings, and who in the world I was supposed to be without him. And, I suppose, to keep him “alive” even after he was gone.

Aaron wrote about his Dad, too. His 30 Day Sad For Dad series is full of heartbreaking, funny, warm, and honest moments of grief and memory. And I couldn’t be more grateful that he wrote his way through them. Some men speak kindly about their Fathers. Some men revere them.

Meet Aaron’s Dad:

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/james_patrick_draplin_19432013.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/dads_obituary.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_03_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_04_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_05_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_6_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_7_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_08_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_09_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_10_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_11_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_12_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_13_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_14_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_15_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_16_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_17_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/10/sad_for_dad_day_18_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_19_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_20_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_21_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_22_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_23_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_24_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_25_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_26_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_27_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_28_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_29_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/sad_for_dad_day_30_of_30.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/11/post_1083.html

http://www.draplin.com/2013/12/one_day_in_2013_was_the_worst_day_of_my_life.html

http://www.draplin.com/2014/01/2014_kicks_in_and_missing_dad.html

And meet my Dad, if you haven’t already.

https://jennybadman.com/2012/03/08/day-30-like-milk-in-the-fridge/

https://jennybadman.com/2011/10/07/moonlit-ride/

https://jennybadman.com/2010/03/18/eight-months/

https://jennybadman.com/2011/02/03/sighting/

https://jennybadman.com/2010/08/23/moment/

jennybadman.com/2010/05/26/all-the-way-back-to-ohio/

jennybadman.com/2012/08/15/late-summer-love-letter/

jennybadman.com/2011/07/18/july-18-2011/

jennybadman.com/2012/03/29/store-bought-baked-goods-lukewarm-coffee/

jennybadman.com/2010/09/30/pals/

jennybadman.com/2012/03/06/day-28-golf-lessons/

jennybadman.com/2010/04/16/peanut-butter-john/

jennybadman.com/2011/06/17/the-words-of-my-father/

jennybadman.com/2011/09/07/driving-home/

jennybadman.com/2013/03/07/hey-fella/

jennybadman.com/2013/01/30/a-portrait-of-the-loud-laugher-as-a-young-girl/

jennybadman.com/2012/10/24/songbird/

jennybadman.com/2010/09/01/when-youre-here-youre-family/

jennybadman.com/2011/01/14/a-funeral-story/

jennybadman.com/2010/03/29/happy-birthday-dad/

jennybadman.com/2011/03/08/a-note-about-dad/

jennybadman.com/2010/08/14/dolphin-shoe-dad/

jennybadman.com/2010/01/18/dear-dad/

https://jennybadman.com/2012/06/18/on-our-dads/

It’s strange. When Dad died, I learned that the fathers of two friends from high school had died around the same time. In those early days when my grief was at its most raw, I thought of my friends and imagined what they were going through. Sometimes they commented on posts I wrote about Dad, and I think somehow it all helped us feel a little less alone.

Reading Aaron’s posts about his Dad made me remember those feelings, even now, 4 1/2 years later, and again, I feel less alone.

Thanks to Aaron for writing down the things we’re often afraid to even say. And, for sharing his Dad with us. I wish I could’ve met him. And I wish he’d met mine.