A teenager girl who doesn't want to talk to her mother? Shocking!

I'm having a hard time with today's strip. Are we supposed to be upset that as a teenager, Shalimar didn't want to talk with her mother, but as an adult, she likes talking to her mother? Is asking advice a bad thing? Are we supposed to correlate her talking to mother with her getting married (as opposed to just growing up and maturing)?

No, I guess we're supposed to focus on her asking for help with a down payment. I shouldn't complain that that's not exactly uncommon, seeing that this is "They'll Do It Every Time." This is supposed to be stuff that happens frequently. And I guess we're supposed to judge hubby Ragmop as a doofus (since that's how he's drawn).

I don't know. Maybe it would help if Al specified that Shal only ever shows up to ask for money. But I'm in a sunny mood and looking forward to seeing my mom this weekend, so I'm going to come down on Shal's side, and say that it's nice that she wants to talk to her mom.

And hey, Mom could always try to pull a Gilmore Girls-type promise that in order to get the money, Shal and Ragmop have to have dinner with her every week.