littlelionesspdx

[littlelionesspdx]

My dad and I once had a disagreement over him using the adage "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I said, "That's just not true. Sometimes what doesn't kill you leaves you brittle and injured or traumatized."

He stopped and thought about that for a while. He came back later, and said, "It's like wood glue."

He pointed to my bookshelf, which he helped me salvage a while ago. He said, "Do you remember how I explained that, once we used the wood glue on them, the shelves would actually be stronger than they were before they broke?"

I did.

"But before we used the wood glue, those shelves were broken. They couldn't hold up shit. If you had put books on them, they would have collapsed. And that wood glue had to set awhile. If we put anything on them too early, they would have collapsed just the same as if we'd never fixed them at all. You've got to give these things time to set."

It sounded like a pretty good metaphor to me, but one thing I did pick up on was that whatever broke those shelves, that's not the thing that made them stronger. That just broke them. It was being fixed that made them stronger. It was the glue.

So my dad and I agreed, what doesn't kill you doesn't actually make you stronger, but healing does. And if you feel like healing hasn't made you stronger than you were before, you're probably not done healing. You've got to give these things time to set.

[littlelionesspdx]

Baby, I have no idea how this will end

Maybe the equator will fall like a hula hoop from the earth’s hips

And our mouths will freeze mid-kiss on our 80th anniversary

Or maybe tomorrow, my absolute insanity

Combined with the absolute obstacle course of your communication skills

Will leave us

Like a love letter

In a landfill

But whatever

Whenever

However this ends,

I want you to know, that right now,

I love you forever

I love you for the hardest mile we walked together

For the night I collected every sharp knife in the house

And threw them one by one on the roof

Then told the sun,

Listen show off,

From now on, you are only to give me blades of grass;

Things that are growing and soft

‘Cause there’s this girl who says she wants to float on her back

Through my bloodstream

And when she does,

I want my rivers to reach the sea

D’you hear me, lover?

I can tell you that I don’t know what forever looks like because I wasn’t supposed to live this long

But damn if I don’t want forever with you

[littlelionesspdx]

It's funny how the right people make you feel like you're more than your anxiety

Like love isn't conditional

Like forever isn't an abstract concept

How time together makes you feel full and peaceful in ways you haven't felt in years

It's funny how a pandemic can be the thing that leads you to your people

I can't predict the future

But if I close my eyes hard enough

I see y'all in it

And geeze is it perfect and ideal

And lovely and wonderful

It's complicated too

But in all the ways life should be

I close my eyes and feel less scared than I've felt in years

When I hold you in my arms, when I hold you near

Everything feels calm and still

Lit by firelight

Makes me feel like I can continue life's constant fight

[littlelionesspdx]

[littlelionesspdx]

This could be fun or extremely sad

[littlelionesspdx]

My latest comic for The Nib was written by my friend Mike Thompson- it’s his first published comics work! 

The Nib has been a steady source of income and a huge support to me and many other indie cartoonists for years. They publish amazing work, but will be cut loose by their financial backer in July. You can read the official post about it from editor Matt Bors here.  They are still running their kickstarter-funded print magazine, but have to put digital publishing on hiatus until they figure out their next steps. If you’ve been thinking about supporting their membership program, now would be a good time. They have levels from $2 to $40 per month. I really don’t want this to be my last Nib piece! 

instagram / patreon / portfolio / the nib / etsy

[littlelionesspdx]

[littlelionesspdx]

Before January ends, I’m going to magically and extremely be blessed by the universe.

[littlelionesspdx]

reblog and make a wish! this was removed from tumbrl due to “violating one or more of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines”, but since my wish came true the first time, I’m putting it back. :)

[littlelionesspdx]

something good shall happen today, I manifest this to be a great week

Amen!

[littlelionesspdx]

by Elena Brezhickaya

[littlelionesspdx]

I'm glad this is being talked about. We had a policy like this when I was in high school. A girl in one of my science classes was on her period, asked to go to the bathroom, teacher said no. She then stated that she would unleash the crimson flood upon the floor of the classroom then. Teacher was mortified so were several classmates, people offered her their passes so she could go to the bathroom...that was the last day that pass policy existed in that class....

Not to mention the fact that Mrs. White isn’t qualified to teach. She should be required to take a remedial English course. “I have went”? please. It’s “I have gone”, Mrs. White. 

first, my kid would not sign anything without me seeing it first. 2nd, upon seeing it i would be at the superintendant’s office the next morning. then we would speak to the teacher. black folk gotta nip it in the bud.

[littlelionesspdx]

Ben and Jerry’s really did that? Madd luv✌

[littlelionesspdx]

[littlelionesspdx]

but you see her on instagram and it was never really said that you guys aren’t friends but one day she stopped answering and you stopped texting and it’s not like the wound is a cavern but it is a diagram of what if in red letters. you want to tell her nice lipstick that’s a good color but the last time you spoke it was stilted and awkward 

how do you say goodbye, you know? it’s not an unfriend and block kind of situation. but you watch the people you once loved go on and have a life and you’re outside of it. and it’s bittersweet because of course it’s okay that you’re both thriving. but she used to be who you’d call if you needed to cry. she used to be who’d you’d be binge watching the new series with. you used to be hers, in a way, even if that way wasn’t permanent. and now she’s someone else and so are you and your friendship is clicking heart shapes next to pictures where she smiles next to people you’ve never met. you know where her birthmark is. she knows where you’ve buried your dead.

the poets and the singers and the authors write about romantic love when it ends. but nobody tells you how to get over a friend.

[littlelionesspdx]

Please distract me

[littlelionesspdx]

All US public schools should receive the same funding based on the amount of enrolled students

All property taxes that would initially go to the local school district should be nationally divided between all US public schools.

If previously wealthy school districts funding needs aren’t being met, the education budget should be nationally increased, to provide the same public school education for all children in attendance.