Thursday, April 21, 2011

I Scream!

Thinking back to the days of my childhood, I remember the thrill that came when I heard the ice cream truck's music.  It seemed like a dream.  How could life be any better than riding my bike with friends?  Ice cream is how. The truck wheeled right up to us and delivered the best treat in the world.  It quenched every thirst and hunger I had on hot summer days.  It was surreal.  The van was pristine and clean, the music was soft and sweet, the ice cream was the best I had ever had.  Really, this was the stuff dreams were made of.  In my mind, it was beautiful.  So yesterday when I heard the ice cream truck making its way to our cul-de-sac, I got a little tingly inside and nostalgia hugged me like a waffle cone.

My youngins were outside playing and I excitedly screamed "Hurry, get some money.  The ice cream truck is coming!"  They scurried like little mice to their piggy banks.  The truck started to circle around to our house; I waved my arms as if I had called 911 and an ambulance was nearing an accident.  The truck came to a stop and then it hit me.  I was the worst mom ever.  I did not have my camera in hand to capture this memory for my children - the first time they got to see, hear and get close to - THE ICE CREAM TRUCK.  Well apparently, my childhood memory did not serve correctly, or this was the same truck that came to my hood in 1979. 

My rug rats and I inched our way to the door to experience this magical moment.  They were placing their orders when I realized that this was the most dilapidated, beat up, horrendous looking vehicle I had seen in the burbs.  Did it time travel all the way from my childhood (losing all of it's charm on the way) to sell us some ice cream?  Where had they been hiding this dinosaur of a van?  My senses then peaked.  The music, while appropriate, sounded as if it was from vinyl and skipping.  Again, maybe from 1979?  How could this awful sight of an ice cream truck hold great future memories for my little angels?  Then it occurred to me!  What children see and what adults see are COMPLETELY different pictures.  What I saw as a P.O.S. van with low quality ice cream and crappy music, my children may have seen as a dreamy carriage with great acoustics and the best ice cream they could imagine.

After all was said and eaten, I smiled just knowing that my children had gained another magical memory.  The best part? - the picture of their first ice cream truck visit was in their own mind.  My camera could have never taken a photo as memorable as that.

2 comments:

  1. you're so sweet... I love your journaling, it would be perfect for a scrapbook page... if only, you had a picture.

    - jen scales

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  2. I have seen that truck! It is SCARY! I think you were wise to let the picture live in their minds instead of in the camera. :-)

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