Editing For Better or For Worse (section)

==2007 and 2008 changes==
Johnston had planned to retire in the fall of 2007,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20020924/johnston_comic_strip_020923/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525141507/https://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Entertainment/20020924/johnston_comic_strip_020923 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |title=''For Better or For Worse comic winding down'', CTV News, Sept 24, 2007 |publisher=Ctv.ca |access-date=2012-01-19 }}</ref> but in January 2007, she announced that she instead would be tweaking her strip's format beginning September 2007. Storylines would now focus primarily on the second-generation family of one of the original children; scenes and artwork from older strips would be reused in new contexts; and the characters would stop aging.<ref>Brad Mackay, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120211121912/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/johnston.html "Family affair: Lynn Johnston winds down her famous comic strip"], Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) News, August 24, 2007</ref> Johnston announced that the changes were to provide more time for travel and to accommodate health problems, including a neurological condition ([[dystonia]]) she controlled with medication.<ref name="upshybrid"/>

In September 2007, Johnston said she and her husband, Rod, were separated and probably would divorce, telling the ''Kansas City Star'',
<blockquote>
... I have a new life. My husband and I have separated. I am now free to do just about anything I want to do. We still communicate. We still have children in common. It’s a positive thing for both of us. And I just see so many things in the future.
</blockquote>

But when asked if this would be a storyline for the strip, Johnston replied, "No, not a chance. I only want to live through this once."<ref>"Lynn Johnston's ''For Better or for Worse'' will continue in flashback form", ''[[The Kansas City Star]]'', September 7, 2007</ref> Johnston said in September 2007 that she would continue to produce new installments.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070912013154/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003636743 "End of Marriage Leads to New Content in Revamped Strip", ''Editor & Publisher'', September 7, 2007].</ref>

The changes in the strip over the next year were not major, although, as announced, the stories did focus more on Michael, Elizabeth and April than on Elly and John.

During the summer of 2008, Elizabeth and Anthony carry out their wedding plans, which culminate in a ceremony that takes place in late August. This joyous occasion is marred by a crisis: Grandpa Jim has had another heart attack.  Elizabeth hears about this after the ceremony and visits her grandfather and her step-grandmother, Iris, in the hospital. Jim is hanging on and responding with his post-stroke responses of "yes" and "no".  In the final daily strip, Iris gives advice to Elizabeth and Anthony, who are both touched by her devotion to Jim. The strip concluded with Iris saying "It's a promise that should last a lifetime. It defines you as a person and describes your soul. It's a promise to be there, one for the other, no matter what happens, no matter who falls ... For better or for worse, my dears ... for better or for worse".  This final daily strip had a message from Lynn Johnston saying, "This concludes my story ... with grateful thanks to everyone who has made this all possible. ~Lynn Johnston".

The Sunday strip on August 31, 2008, revealed what each character would do in years to come. Elly and John retire to travel, volunteer in the community, and help raise their four grandchildren. Elizabeth continues to teach.  She and Anthony have a child, James Allen, presumably named in honour of his great-grandfather Jim Richards. Grandpa Jim lives to welcome the child, then passes away at age 89 with Iris at his bedside. Anthony continues to manage Mayes Motors and its various related businesses, introduces Elizabeth to ballroom dancing, and hopes to eventually open a bed-and-breakfast.  Michael has four books published before signing a film contract. Deanna opens a sewing school and teaches Robin how to cook. Meredith enters dance and theatre. April graduates from university with a degree in veterinary medicine. Following her established love of horses, she gets a job in [[Calgary]] working with the [[Calgary Stampede]], continues to live in western Canada, and has an unnamed boyfriend there.