“I need an ice cream sundae like I need a hole in the head, but …”
Me neither, plus we had ice cream in our freezer if we wanted it.
But sometimes, you need more than what your kitchen can provide, and I’m not just talking about peanut butter topping, whipped cream and brownie bits to go with your cookie dough.
It felt … alive. People walked and talked on the sidewalk. Diners were at tables outside the restaurant and coffee shop that shares the plaza with our local ice cream place.
As we ate our ice cream across the street in the park, a few children ran and played as their parents chatted. We couldn’t hear them, but it wasn’t hard to imagine them sharing the neighborhood gossip.
The last few days have been cooler than the previous several — and there’s a heat wave on the way — so there was the faint hint of a chill in the air as the sun started to go down.
Things still are what they are — not all those tables are normally outside, and not every smile would have been visible — but for a change it didn’t feel like the prism everything gets shot through, the specter hanging over every proceeding.
It felt like eating ice cream in the park on a pleasant July evening.
And who doesn’t need something like that?
A Silly Place 
Pingback: The week gone by — July 19 – A Silly Place
I’m still waiting for that moment where something feels a little — just a little — bit normal. Not there yet. I own a still-closed Yoga studio and I have finally ventured out to try to find a place to hold an outdoor class. Just one. Just to see how it feels to teach to people standing in front of me and not hidden behind the audio classes I’ve been posting for them online. Just to feel a little bit … normal.
Did you ever think that ice cream would take on such powerful meaning? Here’s to ice cream … here’s to a little more normal in our worlds.
And, I have to know … I just *have* to … what kind of ice cream did you get?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Last part first … I got cookie dough with extra peanut butter, brownie bits and whipped cream.
My wife has taken a few yoga classes outside, and my pal Renata recently wrote something about it. https://buffalosauceeverywhere.com/2020/07/08/yoga-in-the-park/
I’ve been taking my exercise class virtually for weeks, and the gym just got permission to reopen and offer outdoor classes, but the instructor wasn’t feeling well the first week and with tomorrow going to be ghastly hot, it’ll be virtual again this week.
It felt a little weird sitting there and realizing that, save for a few things, it could have been any nice July evening.
LikeLike
Pingback: Still the greatest story I’ve ever told (and a couple other stories) – A Silly Place
Pingback: Best of July - Sunshine with Savannah