Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 11, 2016

And we wonder why Jeff turned out the way he did.

“OKAY. But I DID ask…” (goes to lie on the couch and watch TV…)

Interesting. Those who are willing to excuse ‘the Red Rascal’’s self-centered existence by blaming it all on a bad mother never extend the same explanation when it comes to to J.J….

shot down when trying to co-nurture and then blamed for not doing so.true to life.

Ah yes, the wifely “It’s too late NOW” ploy. Ask any long-suffering husband about that one (says one who’s been married 48 years). Just one of the bumps in a marriage; wives have a lot of them to put up with also. The difference is that the wives keep a list of them.

I’ve always hated working with people who asked if they could “help” do work that they should have been doing as part of their job.

The final response is the reason he asks if he can ‘help’ – basically because she won’t allow him to co-parent because he doesn’t do it her way (what she calls ‘right’).

So he’s relegated to being the help.

Well, I can sympathize. I usually don’t except “help”, because they end up making more work for me when I have to clean up after their attempt to help me. Deep down, I think they do it on purpose….so I will be sure to remember it and refuse their offer of “help” next time.

“Sure! Watch what I do and you can do it tomorrow night.” Or “Actually, if you could peel the potatoes, that would speed things up.” Acrimony leaves both parties irritated. Accepting help may mean creating something the other could do to help. Accepting help redirected to another time or place can make both feel good about themselves and each other.

“Can I help?”“Not unless you can go out and come in again as Clint Eastwood!”

That’s what was so great about the team I worked with. We could all recognize when another could use a hand and jumped in without being asked.