March 20th, 2018

Recent Faves

by Terri Libenson

It’s been a while since my last post…apologies. Been busy writing, traveling, and taking frequent trips to the fridge. Stuffing my face is an important pastime here.

Just for kicks, I thought I’d highlight some of my favorite strips from the past month or so, and provide some insight into their inspiration.

Here’s a Sunday strip from February that I call one of my “love letters” to freelance artists and designers.

Jill is a self-employed graphic designer who sometimes has to take a few, um, liberties in order to scratch out a living. Been there, done that (as a freelance illustrator). So these little white lies are just a way of surviving. Maybe not always moral, but justifiable. 

This next one makes me giggle.

Yeah, okay, it’s a nervous giggle. It hits a little too close to home. No explanation necessary.

Speaking of hitting close to home…

This is so me, it’s terrifying. For every one or two nice shots of myself, I probably delete ten. Which means I sometimes force my husband to take a dozen photos. Yes, I am that vain. Or self-loathing. Or just over 40.

This next strip is my love letter (one of so many) to other women, especially moms.

Emotional labor is a huge buzzword these days — as it should be. It describes (and I’m making a huge blanket statement here) what we women do and feel all the time. As Jill exclaims at the end, it’s so dang exhausting. In fact, it’s too exhausting to ponder right now. Besides, I have to go clean the produce drawer and make about ten appointments. So let’s move on.

This final set of strips just ran last week. Completely inspired by my kids, those little dears.

I went through a short period where I felt completely unappreciated by my darling daughters. (A parent of teens going through that, imagine!) I guess I was just fed up. So I wrote about it. And yes, I had a talk with them. No wait, my husband did. I chickened out. But I’ll show them the strips someday when they’re parents, too. …And rub it in.

In the meantime, feel free to bring up any of your favorite PD strips from days gone by. Till next time. I’ll be in the kitchen.