Sing it with me now…

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends,
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
– Janis Joplin

I don’t feel sorry for Dina Matos McGreevey (ex-wife of New Jersey’s former Governor) AT ALL. For those of you outside my beloved Garden State, she is in the middle of a very public, very nasty divorce. She finally gets on the stand after being silent the entire time, and this is what she has to say to justify her requested alimony and settlement:

Instead of shopping at Talbots, Neiman Marcus and Norsdtrom for Jacqueline’s clothes, she must now go to Children’s Place, The Gap and Marshalls.

Honey, I can’t even afford the The Children’s Place outlet. What is it with people (not just *women*) that have a sense of entitlement with affluent lifestyles? In New Jersey, a $430,000 house is a STEAL, let alone in Springfield. I won’t even get started on how she is asking for money to help her equal her lifestyle in the Governor’s Mansion with waitstaff and cooks. Did she think that fairytale was going to be for the rest of her life? Maybe she did, with hopes of the White House as well. *POP* There goes that bubble.

Keeping Up With The JonesesDivorce sucks (I know). Add that to the fact that her husband pretty much dumped her for a man, in the most public way possible gives her every right to be pissed off. It gives her every motive to go key his car, rip up the upholstery, and maybe brick the windows. Not to sympathize with the Mr., but his public life and quite possibly his career are done and over. The only choice he really has is to head to a monastery. Ms. Matos on the other hand, could have gotten out of this whole fiasco by asking the judge not to allow press in the courtroom and building a life for her and her daughter by selling the house, getting/keeping her job, and living like millions of other single moms. Move someplace cheaper like South Jersey (hey, we have cheap WaWa gas down here for your non-chauffeured car). Your life is not ruined. You can recover. You have a future. Take care of your kid and take care of yourself. Don’t worry about the neighbors or your superficial, botox friends. Mothers are survivors.

My brother and I were raised by a single mom. We used food stamps, when they were actually *stamps*. Government cheese makes a mighty fine mac-n-cheese. My mom never said no when a neighbor or family member offered us hand-me-down clothes. I’ve been divorced (no kids with that marriage though). I’ve had to start my life over as an adult with a car payment, some clothes, and $150. I turned out alright.

Right now I live in a neighborhood where people own multiple houses and cars to go with each. They have maid service at each of these homes. They get to buy real Crocs. Gas to fill up their Land Rovers doesn’t make a dent in their wallets. (For the record I drive a Saturn.) I have no idea how we got here, except to say our neighbors got a killer deal on their homes, and we just happened to luck out big time. I dress my kids from Target & Kohl’s and dress myself from the bins at the warehouse superstore and Payless Shoes. Does it bug me from time to time that they have shore houses, finished basements and hot tubs? Sometimes. But then again, my husband tells me ten times a day that he loves me. My daughter draws me pictures every day and hugs me for no reason. You never know what goes on behind closed doors in other homes. Just look at Dina, hell, she didn’t even realize her husband was gay.

There are plenty of other people that live well beyond their means. I saw families of friends growing up do this as well – so it’s not a new phenomenon. Gamble in Atlantic City with cash advances from their credit card, only to either win and blow it on clothes or loose and skip the property tax payment. Have your car repossessed and tell your neighbors it was stolen. Why this need to keep up, to be better, to have MORE?

So this is what I have to say to you Dina. Suck it up, do what’s right by your kid, not your ‘friends’ or neighbors or the media. Your daughter needs a mom & a gay dad, not a new outfit from Neiman Marcus.

[tags]Dina Matos McGreevey, New Jersey[/tags]