Flashback to when the boy meets the rabbit. This is one relationship story I'm so excited to explore in a children's book someday. It has a bit of frustration and fear, a bit of uncertainty, and a bit of humor all rolled into one. I'm not sure when I'll write it, but it's my husband's favorite of all the Oxherd Boy stories for kids so far.⁠

For me, this comic speaks of the ego as it develops naturally, as a means to protect itself against pain. Reflecting on my own experience, I'm all too familiar with the tendency to build and fortify my emotional walls when I feel exposed, attacked, scrutinized or judged. From when I was a teenager through my mid-20s, I assumed that by demanding perfection from myself and by emotionally closing off my most vulnerable parts, I could save myself from hurt. Have you experienced the same?