Mrs. McGill

[hitzpink]

I agree that it would have been unrealistic for Mrs. McGill to just "get a job" so easily after being a stay at home mom for so long. The Bellair's thing aside, what kind of job would she have been able to get? She probably would have had to go for some entry-level, secretarial work (unless she has a degree or two that we don't know about) and, really, what would have been the point while she was married and didn't need to be earning money? So I definitely don't fault her for staying at home, even as Stacey got older.

[Amalia]

Yeah, I agree. On the cover of Stacey Matchemaker, Maureen looks kind of young to be having a 13 year old child. It looks as if she probably had her or gotten married in her early to mid-twenties. So she might not have had time to complete or go to college. But what position did she have in Bellairs?

[jen]

She wasa buyer, so she made decisions about what would be sold. In Stacey and the Fashion Victim, you kind of see her work day, and it sounds like she's pretty powerful and has a fair amount of responsibility.

[ktag]

Aha. In Stacey's book, it says Mrs. McGill took a part time job in the children's department at Macy's when Stacey was in kindergarten. So she does have some experience at least. I guess it's a constructive outlet for her love of shopping.

[lovelylemontree]

It looks as if she probably had her or gotten married in her early to mid-twenties. So she might not have had time to complete or go to college.

Mrs. McGill went to college. I believe it's in Stacey and the Empty House that she mentions studying abroad in France her junior year. She almost married a frenchman. I assume she finished college.

Mrs. McGill is my favorite BSC parent. Unlike the other parents, she actually interacts with her daughter on a regular basis. And she and Stacey have a nice, close relationship. I enjoy their scenes together. Mrs. McGill isn't perfect, but she's a good mom. I feel sorry for her post-divorce because other than Mrs. Pike, she doesn't appear to have any friends. She seems really lonely in a lot of Stacey's books.

And I like the books dealing with the nastiness and pettiness of the McGills' divorce. It was realistic. Some people do behave like that after a divorce. Even parents are only human. I appreciate that Ann M. and the ghostwriters didn't gloss over it.

[inge]

I don't think she was that lonely. After all, Stacey could find a lot of mom-sitters for her, even people willing to watch over her in the middle of the night. I think only close friends would do that.

[jen]

She didn't really interact with her mum sitters outside of that book, though. I think it was more to show what a close community Stoneybrook is... Then again, I suppose if Stoneybrook is that close a community, you'd think that Mrs McGill *would* be friends with everyone. Hmm.

[sugarmonkey]

The Complete Guide says that Mrs. McGill went to college and france and worked part time at the children's clothing section in Macy's.

[lovelylemontree]

I don't think she was that lonely. After all, Stacey could find a lot of mom-sitters for her, even people willing to watch over her in the middle of the night. I think only close friends would do that.

I don't think that necessarily means any of those women were Mrs. McGill's friends. I'm sure they liked her, but it seemed they were really just trying to help out. I also think that perhaps they agreed as a favor to Stacey since she and the BSC are practically raising their children.

In Stacey McGill...Matchmaker? Stacey says that her mom hasn't made many friends in Stoneybrook and that she rarely goes out. And in a lot of Stacey's books, Mrs. McGill comes across as rather lonely, such as in Stacey McGill, Super Sitter and Stacey and the Stolen Hearts. She seems to do a lot of hanging around the house, waiting for Stacey to do something with her.

[jen]

In the FF series, you see her go out a little bit more. At least in Stacey's Problem, she mentions that she's going to ring some work friends to go out with. So she doesn't seem to be friends with any of the regular BSC-world adults (except for Mrs Pike, in the earlier books), but she at least developed some acquaintances whom (who?) she could call.

[greer]

^ me too.

I feel like her shopping thing was a sort of revenge on Mr. McGill: you want to work all the time? Fine, I'll spend the money you make on things for myself because you are obviously not satisfying my needs as a partner.

I think that since I grew up with a divorced single mother, I feel more sympathy for Mrs. McGill (Ms. Spencer!) and can understand why she is so resistant to dating and things like that. Plus Stacey and her mom had a really nice, close relationship. They seemed more like adult daughter and mother than teenage daughter and mother.

[Amalia]

^ Yeah, they bonded well. In Stacey Matchmaker, they formed a book club just between the two of them. I guess Mrs. McGill saw her so much as an equal that she made her get a job.

[Deleted]

mcpon said:

I think she may be a little picky. John, or whatever his name is, seemed pretty nice in Stacey Matchmaker. She may have seen him as a little selfish but if I were her I were her I would have tried to extend the relationship.

i don't think she was being picky; mrs. mcgill is the only one who went through a particularly nasty divorce, which may have made her wary about dating. mrs. thomas-brewer may have gone through a nasty divorce as well, but years had passed between her divorce and her remarriage. dawn's mom seemed like she went through a semi-amicable divorce and when she remarried, it was to someone she knew and trusted and loved. to me, it actually seems more realistic that mrs. mcgill *wouldn't* remarry, or even attempt to put effort into finding another serious relationship, so soon after her divorce. she probably didn't trust men and was wary of dating again, so she found little flaws, like with john (or whoever). but that's just me.

*goes to read the rest of the thread*

[lovelylemontree]

to me, it actually seems more realistic that mrs. mcgill *wouldn't* remarry, or even attempt to put effort into finding another serious relationship, so soon after her divorce. she probably didn't trust men and was wary of dating again, so she found little flaws, like with john (or whoever). but that's just me.

You make some excellent points. I agree, Mrs. McGill seemed a bit soured on relationships following the divorce. I don't blame her. From Stacey's Portrait, there's the impression the McGill's marriage hadn't been good for a long time and in the end, it was quite nasty. And her nitpickiness later was also realistic. She'd recently gotten out of a bad marriage and wasn't going to compromise or settle. I prefer that to Mr. McGill, Mr. Schafer, and Mrs. Schafer all marrying within a year of their divorces.

I believe in one book, Mrs. McGill even says she doesn't think she'll ever remarry. Or I could be totally making that up.

[Amalia]

You've convinced me. She's not being picky. When I read that book, it just seemed like it had been years since she had divorced Mr. McGill.