For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 09, 2019

oh, Mike, you don’t say

Elly ought to order him off the phone and tell him to do the vacuuming just for opening his fat lying mouth.

Being a kid sucks. Always being told what to do all the time. At school, it’s do this and do that or you’ll have detention or get a F. At home, it’s eat all the food on your plate, pick up your stuff, do your homework, do your chores, etc. At least, adults have choices – if you don’t like your boss, you have choice to stay on or quit. If you don’t like the job, you have the choice to quit or put up with it. You get to decide to clean up your place or not. You accept the consequences rather than punishment. So, the only thing I wish about being a kid again is youthfulness. The rest of it, no thanks.

How can either of them hear what he’s saying with the vacuum going?

It’s what we kids do, it’s our purpose in life.

welcome to my world says his mom!!!

And it’s about to become a bigger one….

His butt suddenly hits the floor-just sayin’

What until he grows up.

At least she didn’t pick up the extension and listen in. My mother did that once. Once. I heard it and made sure she heard things she didn’t want to ;)

It’s all downhill from here, kid!

At the age when ten billion kids around the globe think they’re unique, and nobody knows the trouble they’ve seen…

Lynn’s Comments:

Looking at the furnishings in the last panel, I have no idea where in the house Elly and Mike are. I was pretty diligent, especially after we started doing the animated specials, in keeping the house architecturally real and placing everything in the same location. Strange.

Yeah, I remember those days. School work, home work, work in the home/yard. Mom and Dad on me about all of it. I sure miss it.

When my step-son was seven, I was building a deck. He begged to help. I let him, and he didn’t more than double the time for the projects. Later, I heard him telling his grown step-sister how he was just being worked like a slave.

She should detach the hose and use the vacuum in that bowl of popcorn.

He may think his life is a hassle now but he’ll think of it as the best days of his life in years to come.

" HASSLE ?!!! I’ll show you HASSLE" !!!

you may never have it this good again, bud

Ah, but wait Elly, karma will come to Mike one day.

Michael should pack up and move out, since he thinks he knows everything!

She really doesn’t employ them well to do work to help her out.

Get a job punk.

So that you will know the difference, THIS is what being hassled is REALLY like……

This is not original with me, perhaps some noted grouchy old man from the 30’s or 40’s, but I think it applies to today’s strip. If kids didn’t grow up, there’d be a bounty on them.

Oink! Oink!

When I had nothing to do, I didn’t do it at home.

Another day in the life of the white trash family known as the Pattersons.