Untitled (Patreon)

So, my Grandpa Jack, whose life inspired The Weight, passed away a year ago February 4. He is the first close family relative I've lost, that I have a clear memory of. I hadn't seen him in years. Chuck, my current partner in life, had never met him. But I come from a large family, on both sides, and we are all really close, despite not seeing each other that often. I grew up spending a lot of time with them. Grandpa lived in Miami, and paid for my sister, my mom, my aunt, and I to go to Disney world the winter that my dad moved out. When he died last year, I didn't get to go down to Florida to say goodbye. There was a memorial service at the hospice, but no funeral. My aunt and uncles and my mom all scattered his ashes in the Adirondacks, and I went but stayed at the house with my grandma. I think about him almost every day because I am drawing this comic. Sometimes it makes me feel closer to him, but other times I think it also makes his life less real, in a way. This anniversary of his death is hitting me pretty hard. I thought I had processed it pretty well, but here I am, a puddle on the floor. I miss him. I hope he would be ok with this project I'm doing. And I'm worried about all of my other grandparents. They're not getting any younger. I also, more importantly, maybe, just realized the significance of the current sequence of events I'm drawing in this comic. The girls are burying a dead thing. Maybe it's a way for me to process his death. Thanks for reading and supporting this comic. It means a lot to me to get to share the process with all of you. Best, Melissa