For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 19, 2023

Here John, here’s a needle and a thread.

And people who learn that they aren’t held accountable for their assigned/accepted responsibilities never become reliable, accountable or responsible.

Taking responsibility is important, but I think there has to be some wiggle room for realizing you aren’t any good at something and don’t enjoy it at all. Adults in that situation can change jobs, or outside of work hire help, but kids are stuck, especially when it comes to required courses.

Not my problem!!!

A school project? Not everyone has a sewing machine at home. The school shouldn’t force the project to be done at home, They ought to provide the sewing machines where student would do the work at school.

Not so fast Lynn. Despite your desire to always put John down this is not the same. Liz will be graded on what is supposed to be her own work but will be turning in yours. IOW, she will be cheating. OTOH, you entered into a marriage with an agreed upon division of labor – John will support you and the family and you will support the domicile. What if John adhered to your attitude and said your should fill your own cavities?

John’s going to be going back to school

Line from 1990s Nickolodean show Welcome Freshman:Assistant principal making announcements: “Remember, kids, tomorrow is the science fair, so make sure your dds have your project ready!”

Oh come on John! Sewing on a button is the easiest sewing job there is.

Unfortunately, there are parents who don’t want their kids to learn to solve their own problems because it’s a major step towards independence and away from their control.

I speak from personal experience.

Ellie should shown John where the needle and thread are.

There was one time on the show The Nanny where Max was lecturing to Brighton about the importance of doing things for himself. Niles came in to do things for Max after the lecture.

I wonder if Elizabeth Home Ec project could be considered plagiarized if the work is her mom’s and not hers?

Your lecturing is a little flawed, John.

John is a dentist. Instead of replacing the missing buttons, couldn’t he fix the shirt by attaching wire braces over the missing buttonholes? Something like metal snap-ons.

I’m really good at sewing buttons. My husband likes to say that, years from now some archeologists will find a small scrap of material with a button I sewed still firmly attached.

I was the first guy in my school to take home ec. Every one laughed at me, I didn’t care! I just said “One guy, all those girls!!!!” The following year there were about 25 guys taking home ec. My excuse was since I was not allowed to participate in PE, (medical exemption) I had to have some other course to make up for the lost credits. I learned some, but most everything I had already been doing at home long before taking the class.

My mother and Grandmother taught me how to sew, embroider and iron my own clothes at a tender age. Buttons are a cinch. I haven’t done embroidery in years and I was never good at it, but I could do it. Not bad for a 78-year old geezer.

great advice dear.. you should try following it yourself. :D

Somehow the Home Economics teacher is going to know that Liz didn’t do this sewing and (hopefully) will grade Liz accordingly. This is very wrong (just my opinion, folks) that the work is not being done by Liz.

If she flunks it’ll be your fault

But shorts? What do you do first???

Tell that to your patients in dental school.

If you were in the British Army in the 60´s – 70´s you learnt how to sew – you had to, no one there to do it for you.

You know what they call men who sew, or cook, or clean? Bachelors.

Hey, what he has “learned” is that he needs to ask his wife to sew on a button or he needs to get a new shirt. I have discovered that, in my life, there are somethings I just can not and should not do. Like karaoke and rope climbing.

Mom has a the toughest job in the world. A teenage girl in puberty and two helpless males in the house.

The new glues are better

They’ll end up being the wrong size for everybody

My kids’ elementary had a simple machine carnival in second grade. They knew the parents would end up assisting regardless, so it was stated as a project for the parents – the kids’ role was to be able to explain the mechanical principles involved.

Kettle, pot. Pot, kettle.

Unlike Elly, Elizabeth, or Michael, John finished his education. Elizabeth still has work to do to finish hers, which includes the sewing assignment.

John’s not wrong, just a bit myopic. :-)

I just buy a new shirt. Buttons rarely come off my shirts, so its a good excuse to go shopping.

And one on your lip, John.

What’s interesting here is that Liz has been depicted sewing quite a bit, even if she has problems with the tension and whatnot.

Do all the guys at Elizabeth’s school have to take Home Ec too? Cause I get the feeling learning to sew wasn’t her idea.

So close, and yet, so far away.

Easy? Don’t tell that to a man.

Why is John wearing that shirt, if it needs a few buttons?

I’m reminded of a Boy Scout cartoon where the scout asks his mother to sew onto his sash his sewing merit badge.

Giving lectures is one part, doing, is of course, a different cup of tea.

The scene: I’m sitting with my mom in her hospital room after she has had surgery. I am working on a piece of cross-stitch to pass the time. Her surgeon comes in to check on her, and asks me what I’m working on. I show him, and comment that it’s a little different than the sewing he does. He laughed and told me about the time he went on a family vacation, and lost a button his shirt. When he asked his mother for a needle and thread, she said “Why? You don’t know how to sew!”

A couple of us were just talking about our home ec for men classes over at That Is Priceless.

Hint: do buttons by hand. It’s easier than figuring how to get the machine to do them for you.