Ice Cream Initiation

The four of us were sitting down to a nice, quiet dinner when I heard something.  It was faint.  It was coming from outside.  It was The Entertainer.

That little song brought back the feeling of childhood summers.  We wore our swimsuits all day migrating from pool to pool.  Eventually the neighborhood kids would bring out the hoses and we would have a soak war.  On those especially hot days we would hear that beautiful tinkling that was The Entertainer. 

THE ICE CREAM MAN!!!!!!!!!  Everybody would race into their respective houses and try to scrounge up as much change as they could.  If we were lucky we would find a dollar bill.  Then we could get the really good stuff.

Back to dinner and the faint song in the distance.  My eyes met Tim’s and at that moment we were thinking the same exact thing.  “GET SOME MONEY, IT’S THE ICE CREAM MAN.  LUKE, JACK, LET’S GO!!”  Tim raced upstairs, the boys and I raced outside.  We couldn’t miss it.

Luckily my keen ears heard it in time.  The ice cream man turned out to be a really nice lady driving an old mail carrier truck with colorful stickers on the side.  Since it’s a new century she even offered us a punch card.  Awesome, she’d be back.

Somehow I managed to run back inside for my camera while Tim and the boys chatted her up.  I had to record this.  She found out about our daily picture and decided to be our photographer.

In the pure excitement and kidlike exhilaration we bid her adieu with a “See ya later.”  She even hugged me.  The Ice Cream Lady hugged me!  She’ll be back; we’ve got a punch card.

Busting a Gut

At one point during lunch yesterday, all four of us were trying not to choke on our food because we were laughing so hard.  Tim said something goofy, of course, and that triggered the laughing fit.  My stomach hurt so bad by the end of lunch.  It was a good hurt.

That little humorous episode brought me back to several dinner times in the Hansen household.  I can't even remember what we were laughing about but I do distinctly remember my mom's high pitched giggle that would raise an octave every few seconds.  I can picture food coming out of Ryna's mouth as she didn't manage to swallow before beginning to laugh.  One time my dad was laughing so hard he rolled off his chair and onto the floor.  Quality memories for sure.

I know the boys are a little young right now, but I sure hope they can remember even an inkling of the tummy pain that comes from laughing so hard you don't know when you'll stop.