Richard: Browse The Strips

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The woman took the toy, laughed, put it back on the shelf and in front of Aaron said "No problem. Kids take stuff all the time!" I was livid. Here was an opportunity to teach a child about honesty and she passed it off as if it was nothing.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Lynn's Comments: It's so easy to criticize someone else for doing something stupid. In fact it feels great to point out shortcomings in others! Feeling smug and full of myself, I really did burn a whole pot of soup one day while gossiping to a friend. I was criticizing another mother for the way she managed her household!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Moms are always looking to other moms for advice and moral support. I don't know what I would have done without my "mom-friends". We shared everything from our personal meltdowns and ensuing guilt to comparisons of our kids' behaviour and development. Without judgement or criticism, we helped each other survive! Looking back, all the angst seems so "over the top". It's just that when you're standing there on the edge of the canyon, it's sure nice to have a friend to coax you back into the car!!!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Lynn's Comments: There was a time I'd go into a house like this--where the people took scattered toys, dog hair, and mangled furniture for granted. I'd step over Tinker Toys and half eaten sandwiches wondering how in the world they could live like that! I'd see crusts on tabletops and a sink full of dishes, and I'd think to myself, "How can she stand to live in a house that isn't clean, tidy, and well organized?!!" ... Then I had kids.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Lynn's Comments: We didn't have a chainsaw--we didn't need a chainsaw ... but for some reason known only to men, my husband bought a big one, with all the safety gear that went with it!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I have always wondered why gymnasiums didn't harness all the energy that is wasted by wheels on exercycles and the like as they spin all day long. With that in mind, I think hamster wheels could be installed in homes where kids tear around relentlessly. If this energy was being put to good use, such as running the vacuum, perhaps we wouldn't resent the mess and the dust they create quite so much!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I was always happy to look after a kid for a friend, and enjoyed the reciprocal kindness. When you both have a childproofed house and all the necessary paraphernalia, one more kid hardly makes a difference.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I did these strips after agreeing to look after a friend's two-year-old. Both my kids were in school, and my home was no longer baby-proof. I had forgotten how to feed, carry, talk to, and otherwise live with a toddler and was right out of my element. To add to this, my charge was the spawn of "New Age" parents who felt that discipline curbed a child's natural curiosity. In other words, the kid was a terror. His mother arrived before I called and begged for mercy. Thankfully, she never asked again!

Monday, February 3, 2014

Lynn's Comments: As a new mother, with no one close by to advise me, there were times that I truly believed my son was"out to get me!" When you do everything possible to stop a baby from crying and they still go on and on and on, it's easy for a novice to think a baby does things like this on purpose. I came very close to shaking him one night and called my social worker the next day for help. I can see why some parents just can't cope--especially if they're on their own.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I got together with other young moms, we talked a lot about coping. We reasoned that the nine month gestation plus the difficulty in delivering a baby made the kid that much more "valuable," and therefore worth the added suffering afterwards. Frustrations were all forgotten, of course, when we looked at the faces of our clean, healthy, and sleeping offspring.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Once my kids were toilet trained and could eat with cutlery, it was amazing how quickly I forgot everything I had learned about newborns and toddlers!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: A question like this would have made my parents get out the encyclopedia and look up the answer. My mother especially enjoyed teaching us stuff about plants and animals and would easily pick up a snake or a spider to show us it was something to admire. She was responsible I'm sure for my brother's degree in biology and my years working as a medical artist!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The towels in our family bathroom were often filthy. Alan and I would "wash" our hands but were always in too much of a hurry to use soap!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The quote "home bought" came from my childhood. My mom was always making bread and cookies, so for us, the ones that came in a package were a treat. My faves were "Dad's" Oatmeal cookies and "Wonder Bread." Every so often, instead of having homemade cookies, I begged for "home bought!"

Monday, June 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I remember being so into mud pies that I really expected to taste fresh baking when I bit into them. I can even recall the taste of dirt and the feeling of sand between my teeth. I also remember putting more than one into my mouth--just to make absolutely sure it was mud.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I loved the words my kids created while they were learning to speak. "Fmuffmee" was "Excuse me," "blaffoon" was "bathroom," "ice cream" was "eye-green," and so on. I wanted them to have a good vocabulary and learn the language well, but long after they grew up and spoke with clarity, I was still (to their considerable eye-rolling)--saying "fmuffmee" and "blaffoon."

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was a teenaged baby sitter, I resented it when the parents who hired me came home late. Having had kids (and now being a grandma) I understand why parents want to stretch their freedom for as long as possible--and often forget the time.