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Dear Aunty Pam,

 

I’ve got a family situation, and I’m hoping you can offer your sage advice!

My granddaughter is a senior, has been invited to her high school prom, and her mother (my daughter) has given ‘Ashley’ a strict budget of $200 to buy a prom dress. Ashley is having a fit, saying there is no way she can find a nice dress for that much money, so in front of my daughter and Ashley, I offered to match the $200 with $200 of my own money to give Ashley a better budget. I thought it would be a great solution.

Well, my daughter (Marilyn) blew a gasket and said absolutely not, that Ashley has to adhere to her original budget, and I’ve made everything worse by interfering.

Aunty Pam, all I was trying to do was give my granddaughter the prom of her dreams in the dress of her dreams. Marilyn has always been a bit of a drama queen, but seriously, is what I did so awful?

 

Signed,

Miserable Memaw

 

Dear Memaw,

 

In a word, YES, what you did was awful. What possessed you to make that offer in front of Ashley? Of course, it’s interfering. And it’s difficult for Aunty Pam to believe that you would be so naive as to not recognize that putting your own daughter on the spot while trying to lovebomb your granddaughter with a glittering offer, wouldn’t be welcomed.

Marilyn is trying to teach Ashley a life lesson here, woman, about economics and budgeting.

If Ashley desperately wants more money to find her dream dress, she can do a bit of earning of her own. But if she’s really smart, she’ll do what a lot of gals do: go to consignment shops and Goodwills, find a dress for $25 and keep the $175 for highlights, a manicure, or a bottle of Boones Farm. It is prom night, after all.

 

Cheers dears!!

Aunty Pam