Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 26, 2020

oh, this is going to be sweet (Toni and Brad discussing who’ll be the stay-at-home parent when Shannon becomes a cousin)

Have they never heard of parental leave? Lot’s of working couples have kids without leaving their jobs permanently.

And Shannon is still playing Calvinball.

Shannon Shannon Shannon

Not so sure about the Feuerwehr, but I know it was a big deal in the military.

Talking 1980s here, and there was a time when recruiters were not allowed to sign up recruits if their spouse was already in the military.

Not much they could do if someone military married someone else military. (Kind of the same with the fraternization rules – kind of hard to stop them from getting married – a story for another time) But when it came to basic recruits, they did try to “nip it in the bud.”

Shannon, another black square tomorrow? She needs to admit that she is a winner and end the game.

Will TJ’s luck run out? I doubt that.

Two couples playing games. With Shannon’s game, it’s a little more obvious which one is cheating.

Toni & Brad could work different shifts.

The answer’s sitting right in front of them, babysitting Shannon. In communal households, there’s always somebody watching the kids.

TJ’s Destiny – successful business owner & baby sitter?

Who gets pregnant? Aye, there’s the rub!

Shannon would always get her way

Perhaps Brad and Toni will wrestle for it later…

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Takedown 2 points! What’s this? They are not getting back up!

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Don’t look, Ethyl!!

Uh, TJ… Next time your roll does not end favorably for you, institute the “practice roll” rule.

Preggers in 21st century Luannverse household, with Shannon practically an older sister. How will it change things, including jobs? That is the real backstory here methinks.

PLEASE end this charade! Shannon will not give up even if she gets 56 blacks in a row!

OK, well, now the adults have to step it up and not allow Shannon to cheat.

Best way is to let TJ have “practice” rolls too.

Brad may become a Mr Mom. That is not such a bad thing if they feel that Toni has the higher ceiling in the Fire Department. Shannon reminds me of the kids who would always have dodgy math when it comes to writing your score down while bowling or playing scrabble. Funny at her age but it gets a bit old on the golf links when someone says put me down for a 5 when you know good and well they shot an 8 ala Judge Smails in Caddyshack…..

Please, Greg, get rid of Shannon. She’s boring and annoying.

Doesn’t she outrank him at work? Bigger paycheck wins.

Attagirl, Toni! Brad would make for a great Dad, though.

Shannon getting beat at her own game.

Will he be getting pregnant, as well?

I have a feeling that if Shannon doesn’t get her way she is going to push that checker board on the floor, she acts like a sore loser.

I would not want Shannon hanging around TJ too much. She is bad enough already.

Looks like Brad left his set at the alter.

Nancy comes to the rescue to care for little Daytona DeGroot so both can remain firefighters.

I love where this is going between Toni and Brad♡. TJ is a great nanny and Shannon is adorable ♡.

As long as they work different shifts, what’s the problem?

Someone is gonna be pregnant.

Shannon calls her father by his name, not “daddy”

Where I live, firefighters work two 24-hour shifts a week. I think they could manage that, as long as they work different shifts.

Don’t have kids. Problem(s) solved.

“He, will,” Toni?

Uh, “WHO” is the one who’s going to be pregnant for nine months?

Answer: Not Brad. And firefighters’ job is rigorous and dangerous enough, without putting an unborn child in danger.

Toni DOES have seniority job-wise. But there’s no guarantee that her job will be waiting for her when she returns to work. SAME for Brad. When was laid off years ago, the only way he got his job back was when a fellow firefighter moved out of the Country.

Bottom line. One member of this couple WILL have to quit work for quite a while, if they decide to have their OWN child. Can the New DeGroots survive on one income with a new baby? Certainly any plans of buying a new larger home will have to be put on “hold” for the foreseeable future. And is there any guarantee that TJ will STILL be around in the future? He might decide “four is a crowd” when the new baby shows up. And by “four” I mean Shannon, because you can bet, that Jonah will STILL drop the kid off on them, baby or no baby.

Sorry. But today’s Strip is the best argument I’ve seen yet, that the New DeGroots should have FULL custody of Shannon as opposed to having their own kid. At least being Shannon’s guardians, neither Brad or Toni will have to quit work as today’s Strip illustrates.

Cheers.

Does Toni mean TJ will have to quit? (Fire fighting in the kitchen?)

They have a nanny already why quit

in some states, ours for instance, a childless marriage is still legal

I’m not sure how I feel about this. It’s almost as if they are saying tony doesn’t want kids. she wants her career.

Set your priorities.

TJ will live with them forever. He is like Zonker being the nanny for BDs family in Doonesbury

Who’s watching the hamster?

Love it, sh’es trying to out-TJ TJ!

Shannon should be a lesson in using birth control.

Hopelessly dull story lines with hopelessly dull characters. No wonder Pru split so quickly. Only Prince Harry and Meghan (Gunther and Bets) have the spark.

We need something interesting tomorrow. Maybe if Shannon throws a tantrum for not winning, it could get a little more interesting. Plots involving Shannon have been mostly weak.

Shannon a Ann Eiffel in the making

They already have two kids LOL

Don’t fall for it Brad

Has Toni squandered all her maternal instincts on Shannon? Me thinks, perhaps so.

Dang, now they have to keep monkeyboy forever. I guess his job and lack of a social life leave him plenty of spare time to babysit. I despair of their single-bathroom future.

It’s Calvinball!

The smile on Brad’s face is evidence that he’s not thinking with his brain. Wouldn’t be the first man to do so.

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Hmm. It seems a bit “odd” that they are suggesting one of them would have to quit being a fireperson. The reality is, of course, that there are a whole helluva lot of ways that two income families can find a workable strategy if they do want to do so. Is it easy…. lots of times, no. But, can it be done…. yes.

Now, it may very well be that today’s dialogue is really representing how Brad and Toni have reached a decision as a couple that THEY PERSONNALY want one of them to quit firefighting if they have a kid of their own. That is a completely different set of circumstances. If this is indeed the case, it looks like they haven’t shored up who is the designated stay-home parent.

Shannon still looks grumpy in her playing of the game. I really think that the cadre of them would benefit from talking to Shannon about how these sorts of games really do not have to be so deeply about winning and losing that it makes you truly upset when you are losing. That is a very important concept to learn as a young kid.

TJ better start writing those rules down.

He’ll never remember them all.

Nobody needs to quit firefighting when Brad and Toni have kids. Whenever they’re both scheduled to be on shift at the same time that TJ has to be working at Kafe Kablooie, they can just get Jonah to babysit.

Firefighters generally work in long shifts that include weekends and holidays. … The two most common types of shifts for firefighters are 24 hours on followed by 48 hours off, or 10- to 12-hour shifts for three to four days in a row. They just have to work with the Department and nobody should have to quit. Life ain’t easy, but you make it work.

Here’s the deal, Toni and Brad.

Leave the brat with TJ.

With those two together alone, what could possibly go wrong?!

Brad and Toni starting a family will make for quite a storyline; if the strip goes that long anyway