Mom on the Picket Lines

Mom on the Picket Lines

Friday, February 15, 2008

filed under: family

WGA writer Elizabeth Page's Mom•Logic: Being on strike was tough--but not having enough money to buy my daughter a dress was even tougher.

I've made my living writing soaps since my daughter was born 15 years ago. It's a really fun job. The stories are all about women. And while they don't look like us--who wakes up in full makeup?--they run empires and take on any challenge that comes their way.

As any working mom can tell you, it's rewarding--and exhausting. Last fall, things got even more complicated when my union, the Writers Guild of America, went on strike. Instead of writing scripts for One Life to Live, I was out on the picket line in the freezing cold. And they don't pay you to picket.

I've always been honest and direct with my daughter, so my husband and I told her straight out--Mom's not working and that means we're going to have to be really careful about what we spend.

As bad luck would have it, my husband's business--real estate--was also taking a hit so there was no help there.
So we cut out take-out--the working mother's secret weapon. No more cabs. No movies, plays or concerts. No shopping except for food and necessities. Which brings me to a really crucial moment--my daughter's invitation to a semi-formal dance.

My daughter goes to private school with girls whose parents don't have to work. They're perfectly nice people but let's face it, they live on a different planet. They don't think anything of spending a thousand dollars or more on a dress for a 15-year-old. Now there are also girls there whose parents work--at professions that don't go on strike. Their daughters would show up in dresses in the $300-$400 range. In years past, my daughter and I had hit the discount malls and found her great dresses for under $100 and shoes for even less. That wasn't even an option.

But while we didn't have money, we did have time now that I wasn't working. So we went to Joanne's Fabrics. The $40 a yard silks and satins were out. But the Halloween fabrics were on sale. And with a couple of yards of black netting to dull the screaming red satin, some glass beads left over from a necklace she made when she was 6 and the patience to remake a pattern, we got a bubble-hemmed, beaded, strappy prom dress for under $30.

But was it good enough? Was I letting my daughter down?

The night of the dance I hid in a bus stop shelter outside the entrance to the ballroom and watched as the girls limped out in their spiked heels. And you know what? My daughter looked beautiful.

filed under: family

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This was an interesting column but, I have got to say, you have some pretty high class problems.

- laec

Posted 02/15/08 04:06 PM

Actually, I think that’s a pretty normal class problem. Of course you want to work doing work you love and keep your daughter in the best school you can afford. And you did a great job; many moms don’t have the sewing skills and many girls are too spoiled to appreciate a mom-made dress. My 2 cents: Learn from this and SAVE. You should always have 3 - 6 months of living expenses at the ready just in case of situations like these.

- Amy

Posted 02/17/08 09:42 AM