Ringing in the Season

At some point today we definitely shifted from Autumn to Winter. But since most of my family in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin have already dealt with this, I best not complain. Besides, who can complain after a day off?

Got to sleep in a bit while Daddy took Carter to school. At 9:30 we went to school, too, since Assumption was holding a special Thanksgiving Mass today. (It's always encouraging to "spy" on our son and our nephew and see them both behaving!)

When we got home, I braved the winds and the frosty air and went for a run. B-r-r. It was cold but I did the 5 miles. (I do hope it's a nice 35-degree day when I do the Frostbite 5 next week!) When I got home I found hubby in bed, taking a little nap with Sylvester. They were all snugged up like there's no place they needed to be but sleeping. And on a day off, I guess there wasn't!

After a shower, I went over to Carter's old sitters -- who run a tree farm, too -- and picked up some Christmas wreaths I pre-ordered. Got home and put up the big one on the house. There, that's my contribution to outdoor decorating! Well I will get around to putting garland and bows on the deck, but not until after Thanksgiving. Let's not rush things.

After school, Carter joined me in our first bell-ringing experience for the Salvation Army. Last year, I called United Way to volunteer but they already had the slots filled for the season. So they put my name on a list and called me back in October. Carter and I will ring twice this season -- the day before Thanksgiving and on Dec. 22, the day before "Christmas Break" around here.

We got a good shift from 4-6 p.m. at one of the local grocery stores. This is the first day for it so people were sort of surprised to see us -- hear us -- but they were generous. Maybe because they have been thinking about their many blessings this Thanksgiving, they felt like giving.

Or maybe because Carter was ringing with me. I told him he's my ace in the hole. Several people commented that it is good to see a child ringing the bell and learning what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. I couldn't agree more. We have everything we need so why think twice about giving to someone who doesn't? This one elderly gentleman handed Carter a 10-dollar bill to put in the red kettle and said, "I know you're too young to know who Red Skelton is, but I'm going to tell you what he always said at the end of his show: Good night and God bless." I thought that was cool.

The only negative was that the whole time we were standing there -- indoors in an entryway thankfully -- we saw the season change. Snow began falling, quickly turned to sleet, accumulating as slush and covering vehicles and roads all within our 2-hour shift. Even the plows got out in that time!

So it was not a fun drive home but I guess it's the season, isn't it? We can't very well ring bells and sing about a winter wonderland if we don't have one.