Back to school: single parent edition.
Back to school. For my littles, the phrase used to signal the joys of school supply shopping, new shoes and being surrounded by your friends. The comfortable routine of school. And for this single mom, the end of ridiculously expensive summer child care. And this year is THE year. The last of my three children matriculated preschool, and is headed off to “be a big kid FINALLY”, as she so sweetly put it. This year the phrase makes my skin crawl. There were options, of course. I was given the choice to apply for the online learning program and keep them home, or send them in person. However, for this single mom, online learning was not an option at all. I am the head of our household. I have a job, which is essential to our survival, and honestly, I barely scrape by supporting three children on my state employee income. I supplement that income by playing music. With Covid, I lost three months worth of gigs, but that’s an entirely different kettle of fish. I don’t have retired pa