In 2009, I was laid off from a company that had only just hired me months earlier. I was new to Raleigh. I joined a “transition” group sponsored by my church. For many weeks as I pursued new work I met with others in a similar situation. We shared our frustrations, set goals, polished resumes, and celebrated any job offers that our members received. As Christmas approached our discussion naturally included the holiday plans of our members. I remember one man in particular who worked in Information Technology or IT. He was middle-aged with a wife and two teenage children. He had always provided for them and been able to give them whatever they wanted. No one was hiring in IT at the time. As Christmas drew nearer, he seemed unable to tell his children of his need to scale back purchases this year. He us told about a conversation with his daughter who had requested an expensive present. With tears in his eyes, he said something like, “I don’t know how to explain to her that I just can’t get that for her.”

I was lucky in that I could fall back on the consulting I had done earlier. When my consulting ended, I got a job through an agency that finally led to two full time offers in 2011. My advantage was my field: instructional systems and technology. I didn’t need to be retrained or start over; I just needed to survive the hiring freezes.

Others were not so fortunate. Many of them found no work or work for much less pay. That was my inspiration for Keeping Christmas Magic: A Novella.

Bob is a middle-aged man who has spent his adult career selling cars. He has a wife and a daughter in her first year at a private college. The story begins in December. Bob has been without a job since January when he was laid off at the Ford dealership. We learn that he participates in a transition group, searches for jobs on the computer, and sends out resumes. Occasionally he has an interview. But he is reluctant to retrain, to start over. He believes that the economy will get better and he can go back to what he knows how to do: make auto sales.

Not surprisingly, the fact that money is running short and bills are piling up causes tension between Bob and his wife. Stephanie works at the biggest university in their university town, but she doesn’t make enough to keep pay their expenses without a second income from Bob. It takes the length of the story for Bob to realize he needs to consider something other than a returning to his former job. When he is unable to pay for an airline ticket to bring his daughter home for Christmas, both Bob and the daughter must face their new reality.