Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for August 18, 2015

It’s not easy being half an orphan at a young age. My eldest maternal cousin was 12 (almost 13) when her father passed away; has three younger sisters and two younger brothers (youngest of them all was born a few months after the death). I have another maternal cousin who lost her husband the month after their third child’s birth.

It’s never easy losing anyone close to you, but time does work in your favor. As the girls grow up, I hope they come to understand that Phil is there for them. I know some step parents who fit the “parent” and “Dad” job better than the original!! My husband was one of the lucky ones! I can not speak from personal experience however. A plus for me I guess.

I have a vision of her Dad (in Panel two) saying “Did it occur to you that I might not WANT to be Dead?”

i vividly remember Holly at the cemetary, it was hard and emotional, was hoping they would revisit this.

Wish Jan had put a picture of her dad giving Holly comfort and reassuring her.And makes no difference of age. I have 90-year-old mom still misses her dad, and her husband my dad.

Oh Holly. <3

I see.

@Leo Autodidact , I was thinking he would say, “that’s why I sent you Phil”.

Does anybody know how Val’s 1st husband died?

That is so true! thanks! It DOES happen! My husband is a prime example of that one too!It’s called F*A*T*E

Blessedly, my second husband is more of a Dad to my kids than their biological father ever was.

Notice that Phil is WASHING and rinsing the dishes in this strip. Definitely not a husband who thinks all he needs to look after is his house, yard, their cars, and boat, like Joe did in Robyn Carr’s “A Summer in Sonoma.”I learned recently that a sister-in-law and her daughters never lived in a private home until she married my younger brother, who then became the girls’ stepfather.

How did Phil know about the cemetery incident?

Didn’t we hear about Holly’s Hormones already?

@ted.hering Phil went to get her from the cemetery.