How hiring a new graphic designer caused me to miss my dad
I recently hired a new graphic designer. This isn’t newsworthy, I know, but my former designer was my dad. He passed away three years ago.
The first time I remember teaming up with my dad, I was probably no older than 6 or 7. It was a Saturday morning and he took me into work with him. We had the whole office to ourselves, and he set me up in front of this waxing machine and gave me a job! The machine consisted of two rollers and a heating mechanism that evenly coated one side of a piece of paper with wax. I was to feed each piece of paper through the machine, and then bring the coated pieces over to my dad at his big desk. This was back before computers were used for everything, and each paragraph (he was designing magazines) was waxed on the back so it could be hand-placed on the page. I waxed the wrong side of several of those paragraphs before I got the hang of it. But it was the coolest thing to be working with my dad.
I got to work with my dad again when I was in college. I was a communications major and Dad was freelancing. He asked me to edit copy for some business materials he was designing. I had no idea that one day I would be a business owner myself, and my dad would design my own marketing materials.
I’m now at a point where my business is evolving. More than anything, I wish my dad could be here to witness this phase. I know that I’m in capable hands with my new designer—I’m so proud to show off what she’s created for me. But as with any process of transition, embracing what is to come, also comes with having to let go. And that’s not always easy. So, if you too are struggling with the letting go, as you try to transition to something new, I just want you to know: I see you.