Food, Home and Style

Love in the Time of Layoff: Learning from the Ladies

Four women, four generations, and four love relationships, each one affected differently by the downturn:

Gloria Feldt, age 67, decided with husband Alex to sell their apartment and stick to lowest risk investments despite low yields in order to protect their retirement.

Elizabeth Hines, age 33 and partnered with Jessica, watches her 8-month-pregnant belly rise as the Dow falls.

Courtney Martin, age 29 and living with longtime beau Nik, is already accustomed to income fluctuation. She freelances and has never had a “real” job.

And then there’s me: 40, married to my laid-off Marco, learning at midlife to weather an economic storm.

I learn from these women, and lately, I’ve been learning even more. Marco and I, as I ‘fessed up last week, are trying to have a child. Says Elizabeth, “It’s a terrifying time to be having a baby.” Yet terror hardly comes through this woman’s pregnancy glow. Though far from retirement, Marco and I worry about the current dwindling of our accounts. Says Gloria, “Our income not only won’t grow; it will likely decline.” Yet this woman is one of the most upbeat, positive people I know.

Joe the Trader writes about the support he draws from the He-Man’s Unemployment Club. As a spouse experiencing layoff one layer removed, I draw strength from these ladies. Is their optimism endemic, or are these women—and women period—historically super strong?

This month is Women’s History Month, and this coming Wednesday, Gloria, Elizabeth, Courtney and I will be appearing together at the 92nd Street Y Tribeca, where we’ll be dialoguing about women’s lives, relationships, entitlement, empowerment and how all this relates to, yes, THE ECONOMY. The event is cosponsored by 85 Broads and the Women’s Media Center. If in the vicinity, I hope you’ll join me there!

Deborah Siegel is the author of Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild and creator of the group blog Girl w/Pen. Read more of her Love in the Time of Layoff columns here.

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