It’s been a different kind of summer for us. My husband lost his job when the company closed. He’s been off since January. In April, our youngest son moved home to look for work. Then middle son announced he was changing jobs. All three of them were job-hunting at the same time.

Yes, I was tempted to worry. But I had an inner assurance. I kept my mind focused on the outcome. I’ll admit, it took longer than I’d hoped. Now, six months into the year, middle son found a job. My youngest just got the news he’d been hired. And my husband has two really good possibilities. Things are happening quickly, and all at once.

I was thinking about being on your own with no job. We had a lot of friends and connections who played roles in our job hunt. But what if you were down and out in a new town, with few skills and no prospects? That was the situation I was working through in my latest story. Two widows are trying to make a fresh start in a small southern town in the mid ’50’s.

Times were hard, but they had friends and family helping them out. They had church friends who dropped everything and came to their aid when they needed some work done on their house. Friends who put together enough staple food items to get them through the winter.

Though their basic needs are met, their struggles are not over. It’d be a pretty dull story without some juicy gossip and a good dose of prejudice. Not to mention, a bigoted lawyer and a run-in with the local “K.”

There’s nothing so compelling as a lifelike story and I’ve definitely been able to pull on my personal experience to tell this one. I’m so glad you stopped by today. I’m planning some special guest posts in July. Four really talented young readers and writers are set to share their thoughts. And I’m looking forward to a spectacular end to my summer! How about you?

Thanks for reading,