For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 24, 2010

Watch tv while ironing. My mom did. I don’t iron.

Only when I have to……………

Watching tv while ironing is a good idea. I always do!

For this kind of routine tasks it’s good to listen to music …

Complain. Complain. Complain.

I know Elly. mother hood just happened while you were enjoying your 20s. You could have chosen the rat race but you chose domestic bliss.Some chase the almighty, some chose family. Once the dice are cast there is no going back. No free lunch.

I don’t iron either. My entire wardrobe was specifically chosen so I wouldn’t have to. DH can iron his own clothes ;)

What’s ironing? If anyone asks, I just say my clothes are supposed to look like that.

I don’t think the point is the ironing. It’s that she needs to get out. It happens to me a lot, which explains the state of my house. But we do have some fun! We recently went roller skating, which I haven’t done in many years, and I love it again.

I don’t iron, either,

I consider sending my shirts to the laundry to be an integral part of ensuring full employment in our economy. :)

on the contraty i LOVE ironing. yea weird, but i do! she should try the TV, it makes it much better! :o)

I also like to iron…in front of the tv only!

I listen to audio books while doing mundane household tasks. Keeps my mind occupied and helps speed the time up.

@lewreader - Elly isn’t complaining about motherhood. She’s bored with the endless repetition of mindless household chores. You try it sometime and see how mind numbing they become.

Instead of ironing, pack up the kids and go to the park or the library. Gets you and them out of the house and has the added bonus of tiring the kids out faster LOL.

“Complain. Complain. Complain.”

Yep, that’s life. We all do it. (Even in our comments.) That’s why we enjoy FBOFW: it helps us realize -

~ We’re not alone. ~ Humor helps us laugh at ourselves. ~ A different perspective can change our attitude.

Maybe that’s what I find objectionable when comments do carp at Elly. They suggest we should not be like Elly (or Jon), and so they feel directed at the reader; they take away the humor, and they hide the helpful perspective.

But there are sometimes some good discussions here about how life OUGHT to be lived in the circumstances that Lynn addresses. Like today: some good suggestions.

Good points dsom8… It usually makes me laugh when I hear complainers complain about complainers. :)

I feel Elly’s pain… even when I was in the working world, there are just some tasks that get to you after awhile. But I think Michael has a good point in this strip. If you’re going to do a mundane choir, mix it up.

Men can iron too you know. Who do you think irons uniforms for the military? They iron their own.

Good point, Michael! Now why didn’t Elly think of that?!?!?

What little ironing I do, I don’t like doing either. Definitely a mundane chore (hooray for the invention of wash-and-wear clothes!). But watching t.v. or listening to music seems to make it go a little faster and be a little less boring than standing there and doing it in complete silence.

I remember being stuck in the house with small children and no adult to talk with, day after day. It’s not good for anyone. Elly needs to get away for a few hours, find a friend, take the kids and go to a park where the kids can play safely and the moms can chat. Sometimes the ironing has to wait.

I like wrinkles just fine. (on my clothes not my face)

Watch out, Michael. She might throw the iron at you.

BTW, why is it that Michael just gets yelled at when he is being a wise-guy, but John gets a cup throw at him when he’s doing the same thing?

It must be part of Lynn’s comic ethics code…

physical violence against husband = funny physical violence against wife = not funny physical violence against children = not funny verbal violence against children = funny

Love Michael’s response.

Children can take things so literally.

Yes Trappper John, she’s in the kitchen (note the kitchen sink in the background).

Oh the irony!