We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at least not anymore.
Before moving to this sleepy suburb as kids, we lived in the city. We'd walk to the corner store for an italian ice. I barely kindergarten age when we moved south of Boston, but I remember the cool lemony goodness on a wooden stick like it was yesterday.
When we moved to the 'burbs, we didn't have to go to the store anymore for a treat. The ice-cream truck would come to us, (though I seem to remember calling it the slush truck?) Of course, looking back, I see that an ice cream truck was just one more hurdle in my weight gain problems, but this is a happy memory, damnit.
During the summer months, you'd hear the distinct sound of bells, calling to us kids like the Pied Piper of frozen confections. We'd haul up the driveway, down the street, out of the woods, with quarters, dimes and nickels, to buy a "graveyard" slush. Does anybody remember this- getting all those syrupy sweet flavors mixed together to make a greyish-blackish mud of a slush? Maybe it was just my brother who ordered it like that? I used to love watermelon, cotton candy, anything pink.
Now, I'm the mom, living in the same town. We don't have an ice-cream man anymore. Occasionally one comes by, but he's here after bedtime, thanks Mister for getting the kids riled up after 8pm with the thought of drippy Spiderman sherbet on a stick with gumball eyes! (He needs to alter his route and get here earlier to make the big bucks from my three treat-loving kids.)
It's different now, though. We're more conscious of food choices, and running to get an ice cream cannot be a daily habit.
Not only that, parents these days are insanely aware of anyone who drives slowly through a residential neighborhood who doesn't belong. Welcome to the age of Amber Alerts, Attempted Child Abductions, Missing & Exploited Children, & Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.
Children don't run to ice cream trucks alone anymore. Children don't walk to the store to get a treat anymore. When we were kids, we didn't think much of walking up to the center of town to get something. I'll have to ask my mother, but I don't remember how old I was when she finally let me go with a friend to the store, but I know it was a lot younger than I'll consider letting my kids go to the same place.
It's not that it's any different here, it really isn't, but the years that have passed have changed things and changed people.
The years have taken the ice cream man.
Beth
Read about me here...
http://meltingmama.blogspot.com/
As the kids go back to school, you can go... Read More
Despite the theory that people have kids because they want... Read More
This year alone, 1,600 teenagers aged 15 to 19 will... Read More
Some people can concentrate on an assignment, to the exclusion... Read More
Children and teenagers are relentlessly bombarded with merchandise that entices.... Read More
When was the last time you and your kids rolled... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 31,... Read More
Successful parents have learned to be both firm and kind... Read More
Encouragement comes when you focus on your child's assets and... Read More
Not too long ago my teenage daughter approached me with... Read More
Most of us when asked what we want our children... Read More
Q. My daughter is a junior in high school and... Read More
Your Virgo Baby..August 23 - September 22Virgo children are honest... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
Karen, a single never-married thirty-year old attorney has a four-year... Read More
Early childhood educators have called play "children's work". Many parents... Read More
What are the easiest things citizens can do to prevent... Read More
Once, as a Learning Support Teacher, I made my way... Read More
Many people still think that the game of chess is... Read More
I remember watching my 18-month-old son eat a big frosted... Read More
For many adults, reading a book or newspaper seems effortless.... Read More
Who Can Register A Birth? The child's mother... Read More
Home-schooling removes children from public school. That alone makes home-schooling... Read More
Prioritize. Learn to say No. Steal some time for yourself.Don't... Read More
There are some grounds to assume that a cognitive dissonance... Read More
scheduled maid service Mundelein .."The greatest gift I ever had Came from God, and... Read More
Teri was 5. As younger siblings do, she looked up... Read More
Are you glad for the chance to put your child... Read More
"Good parents give their children Roots and Wings." --Jonas SalkThe... Read More
Sex has a lot to answer for ? babies usually... Read More
The successful preschool idea behind many successful preschool learning centers... Read More
It's sometimes difficult to find ways to be involved with... Read More
Everyone in a private practice setting who works with children... Read More
Saturday mornings. Cold cereal and Scooby Doo. How many parents... Read More
How in the world do you get your child to... Read More
Some years ago when touring the Scottish Highlands, a man... Read More
Home, home on the range, Where never is heard A... Read More
I know as a single parent or even with 2... Read More
Despite serious reductions in funding for arts programs in... Read More
Children do what feels good to them and follow their... Read More
In the last few years, parents started getting more and... Read More
During one "generation gap" quarrel with his parents young Michael... Read More
Are your children truthful, kind, and helpful? If so, read... Read More
It's no surprise that the self-image and self-esteem of overweight... Read More
There's a new trend for party entertainment. It seems as... Read More
Voices have a way of falling into a pattern, not... Read More
Children explore the world around them and learn through pretend... Read More
I was in the life insurance sales industry for over... Read More
Salon visits can be scary experiences for small children: They... Read More
There is a new stage of development for parents to... Read More
Parenting |