For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 23, 2023

Well, it was his. And now what’s John going to put his things in?

No, not really. It’s about his sister taking his stuff. Incidents like this make it easier to leave.

It’s time to start college

Sorry, Elly, but it’s obvious to us readers the real point is that Rhetta did not take the gift of that gear knob very well and she probably told Michael just how she felt about that gift.

I couldn’t wait. I had one glorious year, then she made me come back home and commute. And yes I’ve had therapy.

I’ve still got my backpack from high school; and I use it all the time. I took it with me to college, too. I’m surprised it has still held up more then 25 years. Sure, there are rips here and there and a few zippers that sometimes go off track or immediately split open after zipping closed, but it’s been through so much.

I’m sure that knapsacks had been invented when I started college. But they weren’t in popular use.

The point is, you’ve got a deformed head!

it was really easy for me to leave home. i said “…so help me god”, i was in the navy and GONE. it was 2 tours before i came home on leave. my mistake. 2 more years before i came to visit. told my sister 12 years ago it was likely the last time we’d see each other alive.

Today’s the day: we’re taking our younger daughter – our “baby” – to college. I’m both excited for her and in deep mourning. I already miss her, and she’s just in the next room right now, doing her last bit of packing.

Why does Michael look about 12 in frame 1?

A few years after I got my driver’s license, my sister sold my bicycle. Note that we’re both senior citizens now and we are really good friends.

She knew you would say no. That’s why she didn’t ask!

As I used to point out to my kids, you own nothing. Everything in this house is mine and your mother’s. The reason you think it is yours is that we let you use it.

Michael forgets his Canadian upbringing sometimes.

There is no such thing as private property in Canada.

Yeah. Just because I’m leaving and everyone knows it, it doesn’t mean you can take my stuff. …yet.

He has himself to blame. He said he didn’t want it.

Leaving home was easy for me, and mine was by no means the worst. It all depends on the type of home we are leaving.

Elly is sighing to herself, thinking she has done everything she can for her son.

Why can’t Michael be like Lawrence?

It’s not that I want it, it’s that it’s mine and I don’t want to share it.

To be fair, there was a strip where Elly was angry with Michael for making fun of what was in Elizabeth’s underwear drawer. Elly said that was a blatant invasion of privacy.

Oh, Mike and Liz will become much closer…. well, in 10 years or so.

Logic has nothing to do with it.

If Michael were a girl, he would be accused of having PMS.

I’m not fluent in Canadian. Is a knap sack the same as a back pack?

It’s true, even though he wouldn’t have used it she still owed him the courtesy of asking.

The point is Mike’s an a-hole.

Oh yeah. He’s matured enough…..

The point is: siblings should not take or use each other’s belongings without asking permission. Everyone deserves respect and boundaries, but nope, not all families enforce that.

How’s he going to sleep in classes without a knapsack?

Only those who have siblings who frequently take stuff because “You weren’t using it!” will understand this. Sure, if you want to get all angsty about it, being angry makes it easier to leave. But he now has less room to pack his things, which is pretty frustrating in the moment. As for Ellie, go back and look at her face when Liz walks out the door with several things that don’t belong to her.

Ahhh,..FINE IT!

I was happy to leave home for college, because I knew it would give me the opportunity to start growing up. I was also happy to visit my parents and sister on holidays. When I graduated, I went even further away from home, which established a pattern, which might be interesting to examine if I ever go back into therapy. And now I live happily retired in Mexico, go figure!

Amen

You can’t have it both ways Michael. My sister and I were the same way when it was my time to leave for college. Fought and bickered when we were growing up but became the best of friends after I left.