by Rex Trulove

Created on: November 12, 2008

It had been a rough year. Both husband and wife had lost loved ones through the year; a brother, a mother, an aunt, and friends. Then the husband lost his job. They said it was a layoff and not his fault, but that did little to put food on the table for the two small children or the man and his wife. Even the dogs were hungry, though they never complained in any way, as if they sensed that they weren't the only ones who were suffering.

Sure, things were looking up. The man had already gotten word of a job even better than his last, that would be starting in January and which he was certain to get. However, it was past the beginning of December and Christmas was quickly coming. As good as the news of the job was, it wasn't enough to keep the holiday season from being destroyed.

As it was, a wonderful meal on Christmas was a vague hope. The children understood, despite their youth. It was hard not to, when their main meal consisted of a box of macaroni and cheese, and a package of hot dogs day after day. What hurt the parents even more was that there were no gifts to exchange and nothing special to give the children on the special day. It was hard enough to even make sure everyone had the meager meals.

Bob had tried to get help from friends, family, even the government, but the message was always the same. There wasn't enough help to go around at that time of year, but if they only waited a month or so, they should be able to get help. That didn't help. By that time, he'd have a job and would again be making a living. Even food banks were over stretched and didn't have enough to help; not enough people were giving.

Bob and Mora were distraught. Bob even tried to get odd jobs. If it had snowed, it might have even been possible for Bob to shovel sidewalks. But it had been an unseasonably warm winter, so while the temperatures were just cold enough for snow, and though the clouds threatened it at any moment, not a flake had fallen. Mora also tried. She offered to clean houses, walk dogs, darn socks, anything that needed to be done. Nobody was interested, though, because it was the holiday season and money was at a premium for gifts for the families. It seemed that everyone felt they were as bad off as Bob, Mora, and the children.

Family could be of little help either, since most of them lived out of town and had their own troubles to deal with. The answer was almost always the same, 'Catch me after Christmas and I'll see what we can do.'

Depression weighed heavily upon

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