Child care. It is one of the largest costs for families. In some places, good child care can exceed even rent or mortgage payments. I recently interviewed for a different position at my day job. That led to a scramble. I called the YMCA first. They have a 25 person waiting list for school age summer care. Even with my older son able to watch my younger son until around 11 a.m., that still leaves a lot of time. At not quite 10 years old, James still lacks the maturity to be by himself for several hours. So I looked at camps. They were also full. Then I set up interviews with some private sitters.

Perhaps it is best that I did not get the new position. Any gains I would have made in salary would not have been realized until after summer was over, and I would have had to burden my already insanely low budget with child care fees in the next several weeks.

I am thankful that the BASD Fit for Life program offered a free camp in June and July. Bethlehem Recreation offers Summer Playground, and I used that to fill in gaps in camp weeks and give myself time to do writing work. But almost everything ends before Musikfest.

The city scrambles to look pretty before Musikfest, too. And it will. I wish that child care was not so close to what I earn. But it is. I feel we are doing something wrong in this country where child care costs are concerned. This isn’t just a single mom’s issue either. I know of two income provider families who end up sacrificing one income because it won’t cover child care. I hasten to add that even child care providers don’t earn enough. But I truly don’t know the solution.

Someday James will be old enough to stay home alone for short periods of time. I don’t know when that will be. Every child is different. Few children are as resourceful as Kevin in Home Alone. Meanwhile, arranging care, if I need it, is a serious challenge.