For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 17, 2017

Birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other gift-giving occasions too.

When I was a kid, I never wanted to know what I was getting for Christmas. For me, the fun was in the surprise.

I would have told Michael that since the surprise is ruined I’m taking the present back to the store, though I wouldn’t actually do it.

My mother NEVER let us “help” wrap gifts. She would help us, but we never got to see anything that she bought for someone else. I guess she knew that we wouldn’t be able to keep secrets.

Lets talk about panel two…that’s just gorgeous

I would show a box to my boys and tell them that’s what they were giving Dad for Christmas. They’d agree it was neat and help me wrap it. When they blurted out the “surprise”, all their Dad knew was he was getting a box. Everyone was happy.

So the entire family was cramped in the farmhouse due to a small rural community which did not have anything like Howard Johnson’s, but they have a computer store?

If the surprise is spoiled, it is ruined and you miss the pleasure of delayed gratification. To be a bit more adult, here is something I got from a pamphlet promoting abstinence: “Having premarital sex is like getting all your Christmas presents on the 4th of July. It may be neat at the time. But when the big day arrives, your presents have already been given out! In the same manner, sex after marriage is a special gift only you can give your partner. By not abstaining, the surprise is ruined, and the special gift is gone.”

Lizzie certainly knows how to use words that don’t give away the secret, that’s for sure… ; – /

Like I always say, if you want someone to know something tell your kid.