"Here Comes the Ice Cream Man!"

Do you remember those long, hot summer days where there's barely a breeze, you're sticky with sweat, and you can hardly get yourself up to do anything because you just feel so lazy? We've already had a few of those days around here and even this week we're supposed to hit 96 degrees!!

Lucky for us (um, not really though) we have the Ice Cream Man who comes and roams the streets at least once a day now, after the children are off the bus, homework is finished, and kids are running around outside playing with friends.

My kids had never had the opportunity to purchase any such frozen treats as these. And from a truck that comes right to your front yard no less! Each and every time they would hear that musical jingle of the ice cream truck sound, they would race to Andrew or I and ask if they could go and get an ice cream....

Now, let me backtrack a couple decades. I remember using my allowance to buy a treat off of an ice cream truck a couple times a month as a kid. I remember the absolute joy of playing out in those scorching, hot days of summer and hearing the wondrous music of the Ice Cream Man. I would run inside as fast as I could, dig my money out from wherever I'd stashed it and race back outside with record speed to chase down the truck (along with 5-6, even up to 15 or 16 other kids) and buy a wonderfully cold, melt-off-the-stick popsicle treat. It was heaven to my little childhood self. After we licked the last bit off of those sticks, we would carve them by filing them down using the sidewalk and turn the hose on and into the gutter and have popsicle stick races. Ahh, the memories. So wonderful to recall....

Back to present day. I have a very practical husband. He hates to "waste" money (how he and I ended up together is still a mystery) and although he rarely tells the kids what they can spend their pennies on, he absolutely refuses to allow them to spend it on an ice cream treat where the price has been quadrupled as to what you would find it for in the grocery store. They continue to ask even though they know what the answer will be.

Well, the other day I was the only parent home and lo and behold, the jingle of "that" truck came ringing down the street. The kids all ran to me, of course, and asked if they could get an ice cream. I thought about it for a split second and decided, why not? I told them that yes, they could. They had to use their own money, and they all ran to grab a couple of bucks from their piggy banks, the joy and excitement evident on their faces and in their voices. I left Magnus strapped in his highchair where I'd been spooning goop into his ever-ready open mouth, and ran out to document the occasion, as I'm sure it is not likely to happen again anytime soon. I just figured every kid has to have that experience at least once! Making a decision...
Of course, they thought it was amazing and wonderful and grand (except maybe Daphne who took 2 bites of her Dora the Explorer ice cream and decided it was "yuck-o" and promptly threw it in the garbage.)

And when their dad came home that evening from work and they were bursting to tell him the news, he glanced at me and promptly said, "What a waste of money."

Maybe so but, oh well, it was fun! And I'm certain my kids would agree :)