wet money and the sound of the change machine.
these are two things that always come to mind for me when i think about christmas.
weird, i know.
i've talked before about my parents' jobs as salvation army officers {here}. which makes me an officer's kid, which comes with all kinds of unusual things. and because of this, my holidays have always been full of kettle counting. you know? all the people in front of stores ringing bells with the big "sharing is caring" signs. i love helping my parents count the money. i don't know why. wet money smells bad, and it's really dirty, but for me, it's just part of the christmas spirit.
i still remember when i was a little kid, living in iowa, falling asleep every night to the sound of the change machine going in the living room. we lived in a small city, so my parents usually counted all alone {every night}, and the change machine only separated the coins then. they still had to roll them and count them. now, they live in a huge{ish} city and count money with lots of other people, and the change machine is much quieter and actually counts the money for them.
and {almost} every time i visit them i still go help count.
i love it.
hubby hates it.
{cause he's a germaphobe. did i mention how dirty money is?}
so, besides sharing one of my christmas stories with you, i also wanted to share this:
Banner Ad for Red Kettle
my own personal online kettle!
i can't tell you how excited i am to host this on my little blog. i love the kettle campaign and every year i bring out all my change, carry it around with me and put some in every kettle i come by.
it's a wonderful charity, you can donate as little or as much as you want because every little bit helps! truly! the salvation army is a charity with one of the lowest overheads, so what you give actually goes to people in need- not paying for publicity, paying to keep the lights on, or salaries {trust me on that one}
if you're looking for an easy and meaningful way to give back this holiday season, please consider donating!
That is a quirky memory, but very full of holiday spirit! My daughter loves putting money in the kettle - of course last season the officer would give her candy canes and I thought that just about defeated the purpose. Charity isn't supposed to give instant gratification of a sugary sort, is it?
ReplyDeleteWow what a touching story. Sometimes we forget the little things that means a lot. Like Christmas is the time for giving but most of us are more into receiving. Bless your heart and wish you success in this endeavor!
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet story!
ReplyDeletelove it. so my husband is ocd and essentially a germophobe as well. if your name was jess and we had one more cat we'd be twin families haha :]
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