There’s something special about ice cream and I can’t figure it out. You see, ice cream is eaten on all types of occasions. You’re on a little league baseball team and you win the game. The team goes to the local ice cream parlor to celebrate. Your team loses the game and you go get ice cream. You do well in the dance recital, you get ice cream. You trip up a bit, you go get ice cream. You’re happy, you go get ice cream. You’re sad, you go get ice cream.  It’s your birthday. You eat ice cream. It’s somebody else’s birthday. You eat ice cream.

Ice cream helps us celebrate the best in life and it helps boost us up when we’re down. I doubt that it’s the sugar that gives us the boost. And I don’t think it’s any of the other ingredients. It’s just a year-round “feel-good” food.

For as corny as it sounds I have a lot of childhood ice cream based memories! My Grandmother always had ice cream in the freezer. In fact, I think she ate ice cream every night. I know we had some when we visited her. In my neighborhood there was always one mom who would drive us kids to the local Twin-Kiss or Dairy Queen for ice cream after dinner. That was a good treat for us! And, of course, the ice cream man came around our neighborhood in his truck every day. The one neighbor lady wasn’t too fond of him because her son was always taking a nap when the ice cream man came through the neighborhood ringing the bell on the truck. But for us that bell was music to our ears!

I can say that I still really like ice cream, although I don’t eat it quite as often as I did when I was a kid. I’ve also gravitated from chocolate to vanilla, and have become brand conscious when I buy it in the grocery store. I stick to a brand that has basic ingredients in it. I’ve been known to drive to the grocery store at lunchtime to pick up a “serving for one” container and have it as lunchtime dessert. It sure tastes good and makes for a good afternoon!

How about you? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?