December Daily | Day 6

The story for the 6th was how we rang bells for the Salvation Army.  We were scheduled to ring from 6-7, and nothing was going right all afternoon long.  I knew we had a busy week ahead, so I prepped meals last weekend. Since my daycare kids don't leave until 5:30, giving us less than 30 minutes to get back out the door, I planned on pulling one of those meals out tonight.  All I had to do was throw meatballs in the oven for the kids to grab a quick bite before we left, totally doable.  Ha!  Famous last words.  Well, take a late pickup, followed by an early pick up, in addition to wild school agers who were making messes faster than I could clean them up, and it was just not going well.

Sidebar.... can we just take a minute to appreciate the incredible ability 6 and 9 year olds have to cause a flurry of chaos upon arriving home from school.  I mean really.... papers and boots and snow pants and snack dishes and "lets play a game", "lets do a craft...ohhhhh glitter!"  Now, don't get me wrong, they are responsible for picking up their things when they get home but somehow half of it still seems to trail behind them.  They clean up their game and I find half the pieces still littering the floor, and those craft projects!  Yes they cleaned up their mess as 6 year old do, but glitter.  Not to mention the completed glitter projects EVERYWHERE (I know, I know I'll miss the mess someday...that day is not today).  And then there's my distracted moments because in my job that's most of the time (diaper changes, parent pick ups, potty help, 2 year old WWF refereeing, "the sink is overflowing!"...you know all those fun things that have to be dealt with not in a minute, but NOW).  Just tell 2 six year olds in the process of digging out glitter and glue to wait just a minute.  They're pretty well behaved most of the time, so they generally do obey and wait.  But waiting to them means merely means stopping what they're in the process of doing.  Which means that by the time I get back they are on the other side of the room and suddenly a case of 6000 rubber bands have appeared for bracelet making.  I mean obviously they had to do something while they waited, right?

Long story short, the meatballs ended up getting into the oven late, which meant they weren't ready in time for the kids to scarf down before we left.  I was crabby, the kids were hungry, Luke was just walking in the door from work, and it's off we go to spread some holiday cheer.  Right.  Well, we got there and every one's mood shifted.  There were 4 bells to ring this year, vs the two that they've had in the past so hard to hold on to a cranky thought (or any thought for that matter) with all that ringing.  Cora and I sang Jingle Bells while Beau gave Luke a look that said "Dad make them stop, no seriously make them stop...we're in public"

In the end I was once again glad we did it.  Nearly everyone that walked by put something in the kettle, some with a joyful smile and "Merry Christmas" and others with a grunt in response to our thanks and holiday greeting as they hurried out the door.

And now, said 6 year olds are walking in the door, so with no further ado my day 6 page:

Journaling reads:

Last night was a mad dash to get out of the house to ring bells.  But as always I was glad we did.  Not only because we get to show our kids the importance of giving to others (whether it be time, talent, or treasure) but they get to witness the joyful generosity of others as well.  The best thing about December is sharing love and kindness.