(Strip Number 4452, Original Publication Date, 23 November 1984)
Panel 1: After having yet again had to make sure that her lazy son got ready for bed, Elly has to listen to him whine about having to do so ten minutes early.
Panel 2: She tells him that he's gotta do so because this is the first time this week she's had alone time with John.
Panel 3: She wants the two of them to be alone like an old married couple.
Panel 4: Sadly, she gets her wish because her alone time consists of watching him snore after a week of exhausting toil.
Summary: A thing that I've noticed is that as a rule, the Patterson children seem reluctant to admit that their parents are people who want very much not to have their kids underfoot all the time. The concept of Mommy and Daddy wanting time to themselves seems to confuse and anger them. This seems to stem from Lynn's inability and-or refusal to see that children just don't know enough about the world to realize that parents are people too. Mike is simply too blasted young to realize that the world existed before he did and that he's sometimes (okay, most of the time) seen as an intruder.