For Better or For Worse

[Mugsy]

Obviously, the new/old strip is too boring for snark.

However, I'll say this about yesterday's: I am so sick of the tired stereotype that being home with too small children is such a time-consuming, energy-sapping job that the mom doesn't even have time to read a newspaper. Puh-lease. Or that tired cliche that "it's all I can do to take a shower!" Ugh.

Yes, Elly, you have two children, therefore there's not 10 minutes that you can read the paper. Don't they nap? Aren't they in bed by 8? Can't Mike play quietly while you read? Geez.

[debjyn]

Well, being a babysitter is like being a substitute teacher--the kids will play you like a cheap fiddle.

After parenting two children (and holding a full-time job) there is still time to read. After 9:00 was my downtime. On weekends, it was easy enough to give the kids activities toys that kept them occupied for a little while.

But, of course, I doubt my house would have passed Elly's inspection. That was not a priority, like it seems to be with Elly. Really, all it shows her doing is housework while she barely glances at Liz or talk to Michael.

[Mugsy]

Meh. I don't buy it. I raised four kids and still had time to shower, do makeup, dress decently, read, clean the house, cook dinner every night, mow the lawn, etc. etc. And I'm no superwoman, just average. I know others who did all that and had outside jobs or worked on the farm with their husbands.

Yesterday Elly was griping that John should do laundry or dishes. Please. He works full time and she's home all day and he should do the laundry? It's not like Elly has to go to the river and scrub the clothes against the rocks. You throw them in a machine; takes 2 minutes. You can 8 loads done in one day if you're home all day. The next day you fold it all. Kids do not need to have the parent's constant undivided attention.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2008 11:30:19 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

Yesterday Elly was griping that John should do laundry or dishes. Please. He works full time and she's home all day and he should do the laundry? It's not like Elly has to go to the river and scrub the clothes against the rocks. You throw them in a machine; takes 2 minutes. You can 8 loads done in one day if you're home all day. The next day you fold it all. Kids do not need to have the parent's constant undivided attention.

Obviously, Mugsy, you don't vacuum enough! And when did you last shave your sheets? Where ARE your priorities??
And for all Elly's whining about their taking up so much of her time, she doesn't really spend "quality time" with her spawn. While they may share physical space, she does more gobsmacking, nagging and headscratching over their antics than participating in activities with them, or even just sitting down and genuinely engaging with them. Feh.

[ivy]

John's a dentist, they only have two kids, and Elly obviously doesn't spend any money on her clothes or hair, so I'm sure the Pattersons would have enough money to hire someone to come by and clean twice a week, or else watch the kids for a few hours a day. So Elly's whining is really not justified. Oh well, that's nothing new.

[azaleaqueen]

It's gone from my paper as of today. I don't mss it.

[LAX]

Checking out this strip used to be part of my morning routine. Now I don't even bother.

[Mugsy]

I honestly don't understand why Lynn decided to go the rerun route. If she's redrawing and rewriting the strip every day anyway, why not just do new material? She'd probably get paid more (since she's losing papers) and her fans would be happier. In spite of her efforts, you can't rewrite the past, but she could have continued to live vicariously through her characters. She said herself that she needs to keep working for both the money and the time filling, so why not just keep the strip going?

[ivy]

Oct 9, 2008 22:13:49 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

She said herself that she needs to keep working for both the money and the time filling

On that note, did we ever find out the truth about her money situation? I recall her saying Rod had spent it all and she didn't even have enough left to buy the basics, but if that's true, then why the hell did she not take him to court?

Also, we all know Lynn's idea of "poor" is a lot different than most peoples' idea of "poor", so I am dubious of her claims that she's poor herself. In Lynn's world, you can be a pharmacist with a $100,000 salary and still be considered poverty-stricken.

[eclair]

Maybe she should try opening a small dress making shop instead of drawing the strip.