Do I like this?

Hello Friends,

I am an avid journal keeper (hence the diary comic), and today I was going over the events I’ve kept track of over the past year. I had been feeling rather glum, like I should have accomplished more this year than I did, but in reviewing the year I was pretty surprised by how much I got done. For one thing, we moved across the country! And bought a house! Neither of those things is minor.

I also worked closely with a wonderful life coach, Ariel Kiley. I am a little hesitant to share this, because it makes me feel a bit vulnerable to admit that I need help with living life. But since I only recently came to terms with having ADHD, I do need help living life. And Ariel, who I first met as a terrific yoga teacher in Brooklyn (though my very first intro to her was when she did an unforgettable turn on the Sopranos, a performance so effective that I stopped watching the show after her character, um, exited), turned out to be an ideal coach. Under her guidance, I became more confident about sharing my comics (which led to this newsletter). She also helped me through the various stages of our move as well as process Laura’s death. I wrote down much of the advice she shared with me and revisit it whenever I feel a bit lost.

Ariel wasn’t my only teacher this past year. I also worked with Sophie Yanow, an artist whose comics and graphic novels, such as The Contradictions, feature gorgeously loose, elastic drawings that have a vaguely retro feel. Sophie was enormously patient with me, an “old” who barely knew how to turn on a lightbox much less use Photoshop or In Design. Her expert instruction and insightful feedback greatly improved my comic-making abilities.

Partly as a result of working with these amazing people, I felt it was time to return to social media. I’d been taking a break for a while, which felt necessary for my mental health, but I missed seeing updates from friends. The return has been rocky, as the below comic reveals, but overall, it’s been good to have a way to connect with people.

I thought I would have more to say about social media . . . but nope. I feel like this comic pretty much covers it.

Meanwhile, I hope you are easing into this holiday season rather than barreling into it, which is my mode. (How is it that it still sneaks up on me, year after year?) Michaela and I made these Mexican Hot Cocoa cookies and they turned out pretty great—and were easy and fun to make. (We didn’t freeze the dough before molding them and they turned out fine.) I’m also thinking about making these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. Will let you know how those turn out!

Love,

Claire