Took my 10-year-old daughter out for some ice cream tonight at a nearby grocery store. This store is well known for its soft serve ice cream, and there was a long line when we arrived. There were college-age students on dates, families with their kids, and packs of teenagers looking for a low-cost sugar rush. We got our cones (I tried the cherry-dipped vanilla cone) and sat down at a table.
One of the college-age couples had a table nearby, and while I was talking with my daughter about her plans for the weekend (water-balloon fights and basketball), I watched them. It looked like a second or third date because they were asking more than just getting-to-know-you questions, but they didn't seem totally comfortable with each other. But they kept their phones in their pockets and talked the entire time I was there.
While we ate, more families, dates, and groups of friends came in, and most of them made a beeline for the ice cream counter. Even those who were there to shop for groceries grabbed a cone and walked around the store as they put stuff in their baskets. It was just a constant hum of people looking for a Friday-night treat to finish off the school and work week. People waited patiently in line, talked, and walked out with big cones and smiles as bright as the sun.
We finished up and followed a family with four young girls out the door, who chatted excitedly as they ate their cones. Their parents looked tired, and this seemed to be the promised activity before heading off to bed. And more people streamed into the store.
It was just another Friday night: kids laughing, couples figuring each other out, families squeezing in one last treat before bed. A quiet reminder that life is good—and it’s happening right in front of you.
