"Yes, Your Honor, I am GUILTY."
And that is where it stands right now, until I can state my case in court. "What court?" you ask? Well, the Court of Katherine and Ella (and pretty much the only court that really matters in this house.)
"What are the charges?" you ask?
Me . . . Leanne . . . Wife and Mother . . . is hereby GUILTY. . . of MISSING the Ice Cream Man. Seriously.
Missing the Ice Cream Man is pretty much the "be all to end all" on a warm spring night in our neighborhood. Missing the Ice Cream Man is like missing Christmas. Seriously. These are serious charges.
For the record - I would love an opportunity to state my case to you, my faithful blog friend. The evening started out really quite lovely. Katie was playing with her friends outside, and I was locked up inside (I say "locked up" because, in an effort to beat these spring allergies, we decided to close all the windows and doors and put the good ol'fashioned air conditioner on. And let me tell you - it was the best decision we made! My eyes were no longer RED today, and just a lovely shade of light PINK, and my sneezes were to a minimum. So, I think we are on the right path. I digress . . . back to my case . . . )
So, Katie was outside playing, and quickly ran inside the house screaming, "MOM!!!! ICE CREAM MAN!!! ICE CREAM MAN!!!!!! ICE CREAM MAAAANNNNNN!!!!" I JUMPED into action, grabbing the first bill out of PG's wallet I could get my fingers on (a $20 . . . SCORE! Looks like Momma's keeping the change!) and ran outside following Katie. Behind me, little Ella followed yelling, "MOMMY!! I WANT ICE CREAM, TOOOO!!!"
We met up with a pack of about 5 other neighborhood kids and parents on the corner. We looked left, we looked right. We saw nothing. No white ice cream truck, no music playing. Nothing. About 5 minutes passed, and still, nothing. At this point, the parents (who were all barefoot or in white socks, because none of us had time to step into shoes when the announcement that Mr. Good Humor was in the neighborhood) were comparing notes. Which child was witness to the truck originally? Who actually saw it turning into the subdivision? Did anyone see which way it went? Are we sure the Ice Cream man is even here? Hmmmm . . . this is getting suspicious.
After about 10 more minutes of patiently waiting for the ICM himself, a number of us (parents) decided we would return to whatever part of life we were enjoying before the kids interrupted us. I realized that I had left a full plate of dinner on the kitchen table (because, you know, the mom is the last to eat.) So, I decided that I would head back to the house and finish dinner. I was certain that the ICM did not turn into the neighborhood, and that perhaps one of the kids thought they heard him, when in fact they did not. I convinced Katie and Ella that he wasn't there. And the three of us went back inside.
About 10 minutes later . . . the doorbell rang. Katie, who ran to open the door, saw it first. And that was NOT good. The person at the door was one of our neighbors, dropping something off for me. But on the street behind her, was the Ice Cream Man . . . pulling away from our block. Katie ran outside and immediately saw what seemed like 100 kids standing around, licking away at their yummy goodies. (Ok, so it was only about 5 kids . . . but when you've been waiting months for this Ice Cream Man to return, the whole thing was exaggerated a little.)
"Oh, s***!" I thought. I can't believe I missed him.
I felt awful. I mean . . . do you remember when you were a child and heard those Ice Cream truck bells ringing? That was the sound of summer. And even though you could buy a whole box of those ice cream bars from the grocery store for the price this man is selling one bar for, there's still something about getting that first ice cream treat of the season from the Ice Cream man. There's just nothing like it.
I put my hand around Katie's shoulder and promised we'd go out and get Ice Cream. She nodded her head in agreement, but I knew she felt bad. And I felt bad, too.
We turned to walk back into the house, when we heard our dear neighbor and friend, Kevin, yell, "HEY!! I BOUGHT ONE FOR KATIE AND ELLA!"
Katie looked up at me, and in that moment . . . life was oh-so WONDERFUL!!!
Katie turned and ran to get the ice cream, and I felt those darn tears starting to form in my eyes. Although this time they were not Allergy tears. They were tears of great appreciation for having dear neighbors who realize how important that first Ice Cream of the season is to a little girl, and her Mom.
Case Closed. And tomorrow . . . I'm buying a six-pack for Mr. Kevin. He deserves it!
"What are the charges?" you ask?
Me . . . Leanne . . . Wife and Mother . . . is hereby GUILTY. . . of MISSING the Ice Cream Man. Seriously.
Missing the Ice Cream Man is pretty much the "be all to end all" on a warm spring night in our neighborhood. Missing the Ice Cream Man is like missing Christmas. Seriously. These are serious charges.
For the record - I would love an opportunity to state my case to you, my faithful blog friend. The evening started out really quite lovely. Katie was playing with her friends outside, and I was locked up inside (I say "locked up" because, in an effort to beat these spring allergies, we decided to close all the windows and doors and put the good ol'fashioned air conditioner on. And let me tell you - it was the best decision we made! My eyes were no longer RED today, and just a lovely shade of light PINK, and my sneezes were to a minimum. So, I think we are on the right path. I digress . . . back to my case . . . )
So, Katie was outside playing, and quickly ran inside the house screaming, "MOM!!!! ICE CREAM MAN!!! ICE CREAM MAN!!!!!! ICE CREAM MAAAANNNNNN!!!!" I JUMPED into action, grabbing the first bill out of PG's wallet I could get my fingers on (a $20 . . . SCORE! Looks like Momma's keeping the change!) and ran outside following Katie. Behind me, little Ella followed yelling, "MOMMY!! I WANT ICE CREAM, TOOOO!!!"
We met up with a pack of about 5 other neighborhood kids and parents on the corner. We looked left, we looked right. We saw nothing. No white ice cream truck, no music playing. Nothing. About 5 minutes passed, and still, nothing. At this point, the parents (who were all barefoot or in white socks, because none of us had time to step into shoes when the announcement that Mr. Good Humor was in the neighborhood) were comparing notes. Which child was witness to the truck originally? Who actually saw it turning into the subdivision? Did anyone see which way it went? Are we sure the Ice Cream man is even here? Hmmmm . . . this is getting suspicious.
After about 10 more minutes of patiently waiting for the ICM himself, a number of us (parents) decided we would return to whatever part of life we were enjoying before the kids interrupted us. I realized that I had left a full plate of dinner on the kitchen table (because, you know, the mom is the last to eat.) So, I decided that I would head back to the house and finish dinner. I was certain that the ICM did not turn into the neighborhood, and that perhaps one of the kids thought they heard him, when in fact they did not. I convinced Katie and Ella that he wasn't there. And the three of us went back inside.
About 10 minutes later . . . the doorbell rang. Katie, who ran to open the door, saw it first. And that was NOT good. The person at the door was one of our neighbors, dropping something off for me. But on the street behind her, was the Ice Cream Man . . . pulling away from our block. Katie ran outside and immediately saw what seemed like 100 kids standing around, licking away at their yummy goodies. (Ok, so it was only about 5 kids . . . but when you've been waiting months for this Ice Cream Man to return, the whole thing was exaggerated a little.)
"Oh, s***!" I thought. I can't believe I missed him.
I felt awful. I mean . . . do you remember when you were a child and heard those Ice Cream truck bells ringing? That was the sound of summer. And even though you could buy a whole box of those ice cream bars from the grocery store for the price this man is selling one bar for, there's still something about getting that first ice cream treat of the season from the Ice Cream man. There's just nothing like it.
I put my hand around Katie's shoulder and promised we'd go out and get Ice Cream. She nodded her head in agreement, but I knew she felt bad. And I felt bad, too.
We turned to walk back into the house, when we heard our dear neighbor and friend, Kevin, yell, "HEY!! I BOUGHT ONE FOR KATIE AND ELLA!"
Katie looked up at me, and in that moment . . . life was oh-so WONDERFUL!!!
Katie turned and ran to get the ice cream, and I felt those darn tears starting to form in my eyes. Although this time they were not Allergy tears. They were tears of great appreciation for having dear neighbors who realize how important that first Ice Cream of the season is to a little girl, and her Mom.
Case Closed. And tomorrow . . . I'm buying a six-pack for Mr. Kevin. He deserves it!
I am laughing soooo hard. LOL That IS serious business!
ReplyDeleteAlso - here is a Sunshine Blog award for you:
ReplyDeletehttp://nicoleabdou-destinationunknown.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-got-sunshine-award.html
You are forgiven AND I hereby grant thee a stay from all punishment. Obviously, your allergies are to blame.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you were feeling....missing the ice cream man is HUGE! Matt went in and grabbed his own money when the first round of ice cream man visits started this year...he had just gotten his allowance and he was so proud to get it for himself! *I left an extra dollar on his dresser because I was so proud of him!*
ReplyDeleteBut, how wonderful is your neighbor? You're lucky to have good neighbors! Great story!
Awww way to make me well up during your post! I don't have many fond memories of childhood but I have to say your right about the ice cream man. It symbolized good times, freedom outdoors and a long summer ahead!! Also- YAY for great neighbors!!
ReplyDeleteI still LOVE the ice cream truck more than my kids. Just the sound of his musical truck on my street makes my mouth water. Shame on you...;)
ReplyDelete