>A few years ago I asked Amigo if he would be interested in sharing a shift with me to ring a Salvation Army bell. He said yes, and loved it. We’ve been “ringing” ever since. Yesterday we went to their web site to register. I chose two locations close to us, one indoors and one out, and then listed the available shifts. I printed those in Braille, and then we talked it over. We’ll be ringing at a nearby grocery store on Friday in the late afternoon.
Last year it was a cold, long-underwear day when we did our shift. We kept taking breaks to go into the heated bathroom. But the most interesting part of the shift was the bell. One of our bells was broken when we got there, so I let the cute and enthusiastic one (Amigo) do the ringing. Then a Salvation Army person stopped by to switch buckets with us (our full for his empty) and I asked him if he could fix the bell. He took the broken bell with him and gave us a replacement — about twice the size of the other. Well, you guessed it, I got the small one and Amigo rang in the donations with the new and improved model. We had a great time, and the bucket filled steadily with coins and dollar bills.
It’s great to see my child thinking of others. I really like that he can channel his outgoing and friendly personality toward making a difference. We’ll be between the doors of a supermarket on Friday (no longjohns needed), and I hope we can encourage people to donate, too.