Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for March 16, 2024

Well, I’m sure Brad will love to hear this new development

Would Toni completely quit being a firefighter if she had a child?

Would TJ split? Lot of questions…

Somebody pretty crucial is still missing in this conversation.

Toni and Brad have a serious discussion, about when if they want a family, and what it entails.

Adopt Shannon.

I knew Karen would do this…don’t give Toni and Brad a bad arc

you certainly have the practice caring for Shannon!

The chief memory I have of when our daughter was born was spending the night while she was being induced. I fell asleep to the cries of a young girl “Momma make it stop!” I woke up in the morning to “Momma, make it stop!” Only it was a different girl.

My other memory was being unexpected handed a seven pound swaddled baby fresh from being washed. My wife was strapped down for the C-Section so I had to hold it for her. It was one of the scariest moment in my life, I had no idea what to do next (aside from not dropping her).

Toni will be ready for parenthood, no doubt.

Toni Daytona DeGroot:

A fearless, selfless, young woman, who, on a DAILY basis, puts her life on the line to save others, afraid to have a heart to heart talk with her husband about having children.

Yeah, riiiiiiiiiiiight…….,

Dinner had better be GOOD.

Leaving the pee-stick on the kitchen table cannot be sanitary. I hope she moves it or Brad might use it as a soup spoon.

TJ, you look weird. Are you on the goofballs? Is that why you thought it was okay to invade her privacy?

Good girl, Toni. Finally being honest with your feelings rather than being rational and come up with all reasons why you shouldn’t. You’re a good aunt to Shannon and you rearranged the house to add a room to give Shannon a bedroom while she’s at your house. You’ve got mother instincts that helped you raise your brother. Yes it must have been tough as a young single woman. You survived and made it. At that time you were not ready for being responsible for a minor child but now you are. It’ll be your own child and not a sibling. You have Brad and his whole family and TJ who of course will be the family uncle. Your child will be blessed.

If we all waited until we were ready to be parents, humans would become extinct.

They’re going to find out that they can’t have kids

Go for it. Doubts will follow.

When you’re conflicted about a decision, flip a coin. You will feel a certain way depending on how the coin flip goes. That is an indication of which decision you want to make.

Don’t worry, we’ll probably go to a new arc on Monday and this will be forgotten completely, just like that time Toni tried standing up to Jonah, only to cave in again and then never try again in the seven years since then.

So Toni leaves the peed-on stick on the kitchen table? Well, alrighty then….

NAILED IT!

Something tells me this is gonna be a long arc.

Is it time for TJ and Tiffany?

So cool seeing TJ and Toni having a serious conversation. TJ’s doing a great job!

Practice, practice, practice.

The stick is negative and she is late?

Kinda digging the grown-up responsible sounding board TJ. He’s come a long way.

I don’t remember. Did Toni ask TJ’s advice on whether or not to marry Brad? The decisions don’t get any easier.

Toni is already “mother” to a 6-year old hellion! That enough should be a discouragement to real-life parenthood.

TJ can help!! Brad isn’t getting it done…..TJ to the rescue!!

You can have it all Toni. Be a modern woman and be both pregnant and not pregnant.

Asking someone else if they think you’re ready to be a mom is not the way to go.. a woman is the only one who can answer that. Many years ago my daughter asked me " Mom, would you be upset if you were never a grandmother?" I said " honey, you have a child because you want to have a child, not because someone wants to be a dad, or your brother wants to be an uncle…you have a child because you want to, or you won’t be a good mom

Aww…I’ve seen women go through this range of emotions when this happens.

Next week: Bets is showin Gunter a stick just like this one here

The week after: Irma is showing Al a stick just like this one here

Who goes the week after that to keep this all running? Mark Trail an Cherry? Alley Oop an Ooola? Mary Worth and Judge Parker?

Right in to April Fool’s

Lucky Brad is gonna get jumped tonight!

I think at this point, most of us are just glad they didn’t turn this into a Roe vs Wade situation.

There are people out there who’s big goal in life is to be a parent and raise a family. Those are the only people who are ever really ready to have a baby. With most people, when it happens, it happens, and they either just sort of fall into the parenthood role, or they fail at it.

She has been a mom to her niece all these years she is ready.

Test again or go to the doctor and make sure it’s not a false negative.

“Kinda” is not something you think about with having kids Toni. Remember they are a 24 Hour, 7 Days A Week, 52 Weeks A Year for 18-21 Years Responsibility!So many people do not realize that till after they have a Child then it’s to late.

Has TJ ever given anyone good advice?

Why would she quit being a firefighter? There are lots of firefighting moms.

She is already half-raising her irresponsible brother’s daughter.

Could this development be a foreshadowing of something really big? Maybe a new chapter in Brad and Toni’s lives?

Marriage implies children. And I recognize relationships that don’t. We’re all adults here.

Toni puts the stick down and TJ accidentally stirs the pot with it.

Brad’s not going to be happy that see is sharing all this with TJ and and him.

Is Brad shooting blanks?!

I kinda miss Tiffany.

what a sleeping pill

Monday: Bets & Gun, a new adventure! :-/

I guess a lot of readers might look forward to many weeks/months of pregnancy and infant care. Speaking only for myself, I hope not.

A lot of us saw the end of today’s strip coming; solid arc here. We’ll get a different arc on Monday, in all probability, but this one will linger in the background, and resurface again during 2024. We’re about due to revisit Bets & Gun.

“You don’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.”

According to The Zen of Our Be❤️loved Ann❤️Eiffel… Kind Of Feeling Like You’re Ready to be a Mom Means You Ain’t, Even worse, According to the Gospel of Our Wise Ann❤️Eiffel Not Being Ready for a Rug Rat and Not Wanting a Cracker Cruncher and Having the Pee Stick Indictor go to Plus… is Really Bad Hoo Doo, Bro. And thusly heretofore the Sage Advice and Wisdom of Exotic Ann❤️Eiffel Kicks In: “People Cause Accidents and Accidents Cause People”. Boom! So let’s be careful out there. With that Your Be❤️ed Hero, The Patriotic❤️Count must bid you fondu adieu …. And like Incredible Ann❤️Eiffle tells us… Let’s Be Careful Out There… TTFN… Onward and Upward and On to St Patrick’s Day!!! A ❤️Favorite! Count… OUT!

Maybe she didn’t wait long enough. Maybe next week, the second line will appear!

Toni, don’t put that nasty thing on the dining table.

NONE of this conversation should be happening with TJ!

Well while you are making up your mind, its time for more practice. Keep going at it until you get it right.

Toni has always been the real beauty of this strip. But, now that she’s contemplating motherhood, there’s a special beauty about her.

It is the biological imperative! Can’t fight it. When that clock goes off, look out!

The big question is – are Toni and TJ going to keep this secret from Brad? And what happens when TJ slips up and mentions the test? I really don’t like the way Toni is leaving her husband out of this very important development. It makes her, well, both of them, conspirators against poor dumb Brad.

Toni has a really sweet and melancholy expression. It’s really nice to see how the possibility of being pregnant made her rethink about the whole thing. Now really looks like the fear she had has gone away. I think TJ’s opinion that she would be a good mother helped her clear her mind. Brad adores Toni, but maybe that for her might mean that his judgment about her abilities is unreliable. Because he thinks she’s exceptional, while she doesn’t feel to be exceptional but to be very confused and unprepared.

It’s so ridiculous these conversations always involve TJ..

A real mom wouldn’t have laid the pee soaked test strip down on the table!

Three’s Company or a crowd…TJ take a hint will ya…Toni take a hint will ya…HEY BRAD, take a hint will ya?

She’s putting her pee stick on the table. EW

I am not surprised this arc ended this way, but given potential, misdirection plays I hesitated to predict. Anyone pick up how loving and skilfull TJ is in being a really good friend.

Live a little first…….

Shouldn’t Toni be having this conversation with Brad?

Get that urine-soaked stick off the kitchen table, wash the table & then go wash your hands, Toni. Ew!

Wow, TJ being the adult in the room.

GET THE PEED-ON STICK OFF THE FOOD TABLE!!! GEEZ!!!

I’m glad Toni is having these doubts and thinking first. That means she takes seriously this decision about whether to have kids. This is not a decision to make lightly because it involves raising babies who will become adults; the people raising them should be absolutely sure they want to be doing it and for the right reasons. Otherwise, they will screw up the kids. Unfortunately, far too many people don’t realize what a serious job it is and do it for the wrong reasons.

When I was 34, I went to my GYN, because I had been “late”, and he did some test and said that I wasn’t, but I insisted I was, so he said he would do a blood test.. later he called me at home, and said that I was right!

Our authors know how to keep the audience engaged, don’t they just.

Of course you are, and you would be a good mom.

Why is Toni even discussing any of this with TJ before Brad?

Plot twist: Toni accidentally purchased the menopause-indicator test.

Will we see Brad and Toni discuss this next week? Stay tuned.

Toni, get therapy!

Tj is a great friend and therapist!

Oh, look — it’s the month of Greg! (See panel 1.)

I want to know why she’s confiding all this stuff to TJ. This is something that Brad should hear before anyone else, ESPECIALLY TJ. Sometimes I think G&K aren’t thinking straight. Will Brad & Toni end up divorced? weird.

Moms are the best things in the world.

My wife’s whole goal in life was to be a Mom. She was devastated when she wasn’t pregnant within six weeks of marriage. We corrected that in a couple more months.

Yay!!

Judging from having Shannon around they would be excellent parents

She’ll just teach the kid to climb ladders at an early age

You’re having this conversation with the wrong person