Harper Grace Champlin

Submitted by Harper’s dad, Brett.

It has been 894 days since 11/3/2022 when Harper Grace Champlin was born still. It feels like both an eternity and just yesterday that we held our baby girl in our arms. Life has returned to a semblance of normalcy, although the concept of what is normal is ambiguous, as how could life ever be normal without our daughter being physically present.

In the two and a half years since, we’ve done our second cross country move by returning to Colorado from Connecticut, welcomed our rainbow daughter – Maren, and watched Emerson grow into a beautiful and thriving 4.5 year old. Yet all that excitement does not fill the void that Harper’s passing has left in our life. It is hard to imagine or put into words, the sadness I feel nearly every day when I look at the box containing her ashes or watch as her baby sister experiences a “first” something that we will never witness with Harper. 

Tasks that used to feel impossible have become easier such as waking up in the morning, returning to work, and venturing into the public where triggers are always present. In the early months after losing Harper, I found it impossible to enjoy hobbies that I used to love. I could no longer pick up books to read as that is what I was doing when I received the phone call from my wife that Harper’s heart had stopped beating. My love for baking escaped for what felt like an eternity only to return when I decided to start Harper’s Cookies – a concept that is still more a vision, but will one day become a reality – to raise money for Sad Dads Club and for ways that we can honor Harper as a family. I’ve slowly learned that Harper would want me to be happy and that my living daughters deserve my true and authentic self. 

I wish Harper was here, but she is not and I choose to honor her by committing my time to helping other Dads on their own grief journeys and by growing the SDC community so we can continue to reach Dads who need our help. Sadly, pregnancy and infant loss can never be eliminated entirely, but Harper lives on inside me as I share my grief journey with others in the hopes that they too recognize that there is hope after loss. 

I miss you Harper and I love you so much.