At about this time every year, my neglected garden begins to fill up with a particular weed—I think it’s kind of a dandelion, but with smaller yellow flowers—and every time, I become convinced that some of them aren’t dandelions, but secret wildflowers I scattered seeds for earlier in the winter, hoping they’d come up in spring.

This is an insane theory, not least because the weeds are identical and come up all at once. Just by looking at them, you can tell they’re the same; they have juicy, contiguous stems and leaves, they’re electric green and sprout up thick as a carpet. But I’m afraid, as I pull them up, that I’m ruining something I wanted not so long ago; something I have, foolishly forgotten.

Brains, am I right? They are the worst and the best.

According to my numbering system, this is my 300th comic for this website; that’s probably off by a few, because I have occasionally posted little sketches or mash-ups on weeks when I don’t have a new strip ready, but it’s close enough that I feel justified in experiencing the attendant pride. I’m not sure what I thought would happen when I started this website, but I probably didn’t anticipate it would go for so long, or become such a large part of my life. I couldn’t have known how much it would mean to me now, over 7 years later.

But it means a lot.

This is not where I earn my money, and it’s not what I studied in school. But every week I put aside the time to make a strip from beginning to end, dreaming it up and sketching it out and eventually posting it for the world to see. It has become a part of the rhythm of my life, and I’m proud of it. I’m proud that I’m still here, finding new things to say in this familiar shape.

I hope this comic will continue to be here for many years to come. Thanks for enjoying it.