The holidays were fast approaching and I was just not in the spirit. I knew in my heart that gift-giving was not the most important aspect of the season, but the looks on my boys' faces said otherwise. You see, I had become a single parent, not of my choosing.

I rifled through the bills and compared them against the paycheck. I sighed. My job as a personal assistant paid well but it did not allow for too many extras. When combined with a second income, it seemed to go so much further. If picked up extra hours at work, I would have to pay more in babysitting fees, negating any profit. I had to think of a quick way to make the holiday spending money.

The light bulb went off. I rushed to my kitchen and leafed through my cookbooks. I then researched eBay's selling options. After setting up an eBay account and computing my costs, Grandma Jo's Cakes was in business, selling pound cakes.

Both my mother and grandmother (the Grandma Jo) have mad skills when it comes to baking and somehow, I picked up the craft, primarily by observing. Pound cakes are simple and they ship easily. I had 8 weeks in which to make this plan work so there was no time to waste. In addition to eBay, I placed flyers throughout my community and offered free delivery.

I started receiving orders within the week. I baked cakes in the evening after the boys had gone to bed and on the weekends. The boys even helped with packing the merchandise. Each package had a handwritten note, thanking them for their order and the boys drew pictures. The boys had no idea we were working for their holiday gifts.

That year was one of the most satisfying holidays we have enjoyed as a family. Although our family dynamics had changed, we were still a family. We had overcome obstacles and worked together to achieve our goal. We could do anything!