It's school-picture day and Karen has nothing clean to wear. Timmy can't find his cleats and soccer practice is in 10 minutes. Sam is working from home but his conference call is running an hour late, and Sandy is away on business.

If this scenario seems oh-so-familiar, be prepared to see yourself in the mirror when you read Home and Away, a new daily and Sunday comic strip by Steve Sicula that is being distributed by The Washington Post Writers Group.

The strip features Sam and Sandy Szwyk, typical parents juggling careers and child care. Sam and Sandy find it hard enough to make sure Karen and Timmy are where they need to be when they need to be there (not to mention appropriately dressed); when you factor in their business travel schedules, you've got barely managed chaos. That's why love, respect and a got-your-back support system are the trinity behind Sam and Sandy's relationship. It's what they depend upon at home and away.

Despite their mutual support, there are still kinks in the Szwyks' system. Sam telecommutes, so he handles most of the household chores – for which he would earn an "A" for effort but a "C" for execution. Sandy's high-paying job logging lots of frequent-flyer miles means that "quality time" with Sam and the kids is all the more important to her. And she's determined to make it meaningful even if everyone else just wants to stay home and watch cartoons.

It's no surprise that the strip is based on the cartoonist's own experiences. "Home and Away is a window into my wife's and my life," explains Sicula. "For the last 12 years we've had to juggle travel schedules with everything else that goes on when raising a family. Our friends would ask us how we were able to do it. Just like everything else, we just adapted. Some would call it 'mutated,' but I prefer 'adapted.'"

About the Artist

Sicula was born and raised in northwest Indiana. He attended Purdue University, where he drew a comic strip and took a turn as the staff editorial cartoonist for the school newspaper. But cartooning remained a hobby while he spent the next 20 years selling computer products. His other hobby is acting – he was an extra in three episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger," a gig Sicula says he was able to procure "by possessing the most coveted two acting skills for a thespian seeking "extra" work... a pulse and time to waste." He lives in McKinney, Texas, with his wife Vicki, who is also in sales and sales management for computer products, and their two kids. In addition to being a cartoonist, Sicula is a national sales manager for ViewSonic Corporation. Home and Away begins in newspapers on June 23.