All I really need to know I learned from ice cream.

My birthday is coming up October 4th, so I’ve been reminiscing lately...

One year while I was in grade school, my dad started buying half-gallons of ice cream he found on sale. Before then, eating ice cream had pretty much been reserved for celebrations. It was exciting, eating this frozen delicacy “just because.” Today, when I offer ice cream to friends, neighbors, and people I’ve just met—I’m not kidding—I can tell I am not the only one that, at one time, all but forgot about ice cream between parties. It seems strange to me that, as much as everyone enjoys ice cream, so many eat it so rarely.

Something I’ve noticed is that ice cream brings out the best in people. When a group of people eat ice cream together the conversation stays pretty positive. (Try and imagine someone eating ice cream angrily. Absurd, isn’t it?) It lets them feel like a kid again. In the case of gatherings at my domicile, guests are invited into a world beyond Neapolitan. Most importantly, ice cream gives people a reason to celebrate during a regular day.

And I love sharing! I am overjoyed to open up my freezer full of ice cream for people. After church this past Sunday night, a group of us were talking and I suggested we all go back to my place for ice cream. I may only own one chair in my little apartment, but I knew there was enough ice cream for everyone—a dozen or so people—to leave fat and happy. It turned into a lovely evening: a large group of people, many sitting cross-legged on the floor, trying a scoop of this and a scoop of that, grinning ear to ear. This was not unlike other gatherings I have held with the same dessert theme.

Now, whenever I call up someone who I haven’t seen in a while, they suggest we meet up for ice cream. I can almost hear them smiling because, in their minds, when I am around ice cream is consumed. It’s almost a Pavlovian response that has been created. I’m just glad to share such a wonderful gift.