It was a hell of a week at work. Monday, a co-worker was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. On Wednesday, I learned that a major funding source was lost for one of the offices of the non-profit for whom I work. On Monday I will be telling the people who work in that office, all wonderful people dedicated to serving the poor, that come October they may not have a job.

But the real kicker was on Friday. In way of explanation, I'm a lawyer. A co-worker came to my office and said a good friend was there and she had just found out that her husband was physically abusing her children. So I went to talk with her. We talked through the options as my co-worker held her friend and as the woman sobbed. We talked through how to keep her kids safe, and to keep her safe. And then she said, "I feel so guilty, all I'm thinking about is what am I going to do with him not there to provide child care."

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST "What am I going to do with him not there to provide child care."

In a just world, I would have been able to say, "Here's the number of a sliding fee day care program." But I couldn't do that.

Now I'm crying, as I write this.

I told told her that she shouldn't feel guilty, she was trying to figure out how to keep her kids safe, and how to feed her kids too. I told her that we would work with her to find out if she could get child care help. I told her we would help her get any public assistance she qualified for. And that she could get child support. And I made sure she would be safe this weekend, and gave her a notepad, so that she could write down every question she had, and then speak with me on Monday. And I gave her my cell phone number. But I'm wondering too, how will she be able to afford child care.

There are no words.