"It's the most wonderful time of the year......"

I always know that the Christmas season has officially started here in Bloomington when I go out to the different stores and can here the sound of bells jingling as soon as I open my car door. The sound of the bells is such a familiar sound to me. The bells I'm referring to are the ones that are rung for the Salvation Army... every year that I can remember growing up my dad has always volunteered, along with the K of C, to ring the bells at one of the stores. Once I was about 10 years old, my dad decided to bring me along to help him ring them. I remember at age 10 I was very shy when it came to talking to strangers... so if my dad told me to sing songs or something I would clam up, and if he started to sing them my face turned very red, because more people noticed us. I also really didn't like it when the place we would ring the bells at had us outside in the cold. I much preferred being in a warm environment, like the local mall for example, then standing outside of Kroger. After a few years though it became a tradition for my dad and I. Sometimes I would drag my friends along and we would ring the bells out in the cold and sing Christmas songs to pass the time. I think that whenever I hear those jingly bells it will always bring me back to the days of just my dad and I helping raise money for people in need, and it will bring a smile to my face... I just wish that more people would think to help out those in need throughout the rest of the year, not just the Christmas season.