Because it's Back-to-School time!

My mom was a school teacher for 30+ years, both in New York and in Florida before retiring.

By having a teacher for a parent, not only did I get my school supplies ahead of time but I actually enjoyed shopping for them rather than going to school. As the youngest, I've gotten a lot of cute memorable stuff over the years.

When in second grade, Mom bought me some Crayola crayon-rocket-shaped erasers. My classmates kept harassing me and my teacher thought I had brought in toys and disrupted the class. But I showed her they were erasers.

This episode taught me to be particular with what supplies I revealed to schoolmates and how jealousy can get someone into trouble.

For My Own Good...

There is an online chat I attend every Sunday at 7:00 PM EST.

Tonight's topic was junior high and I decided, for the betterment of my mental health, to bow out of it as I have many painful memories from that time in my life.

Experiences I'm still processing as a middle-age adult and mining its fodder for my stories and my illustrations.

So, while I won't discuss such matters with people I've chatted with for probably seven years (ancient in social media time!), I would prefer to regurgitate in writing and in art.