One Day at a Time

I've enjoyed the long run of For Better or For Worse as a comic strip. I frequently give the Remembering Farley to people who have lost a dog because of the wonderful way Johnston developed Farley's storyline. [I really resented April for a long time after that incident. I've only come to appreciate her character in recent years, especially since she befriended Shannon and made significant headway toward becoming a kind, caring human being.]

I've also gotten caught up in the whole speculation around Liz and her future mate. Consensus online seems to be that she has no choice but to end up with Anthony (AKA, The Mustache), possibly the blandest character in the history of the strip.

But I've never quite been happy with the Michael-Deanna-too-many-children-to-take-care-of story arc. They seem to pop out a new kid just because that's the thing to do. And now that Michael has an advance on his book, it should be high time for them to move on with their lives and actually settle down.

In this strip from April 7, 2007, we see that Michael is not really ready to make a committment:

(click for full size)

What the heck is he talking about? He HAS made the committment to getting married, and having two kids (for now) on top of that. He's been skeptical about the prospect of buying a house for a while now, and this strip really brings his maturity level down in my estimation. (See the Comics Curmudgeon's take on this strip for a similar opinion

But then, look at the strip four days later on April 11, 2007:

We have almost a complete reversal. The only thing that makes the position switch incomplete is the house in question: if he can buy the house he grew up in (which is definitely worth more than the smaller house that seems like too much of a committment), then he's suddenly in favor of the idea. What gives?

And despite all of Michael's wishy-washiness, April is kind of right in her complaints that no one is really consulting her. She will have the choice (presumably) of staying in her childhood home, but with her brother, sister-in-law, and their screaming children (hey, built-in babysitter!), or moving out of that home with her parents into something that is admittedly just right for two. Awkward.