Ice Cream Treats

The best way I know to soothe an aching body is ice cream. After a (mercifully) short visit to urgent care this afternoon my son seemed entitled to a cool treat as recompense for being sentenced to crutches for a week. (He'll be fine - sprained rather than broken ankle - after jumping off a pony wall while "sword" fighting with a neighborhood friend.)

The actual visit to the doctor's office was the most fun I've had in a holding cell. The room we were in contained a myriad of pamphlets about common ailments like heartburn and acid reflux, bladder urges, and irritable bowel syndrome. The brochures were not intrinsically funny, but the photos on the front - middle aged people wearing I've-just-won-the-lottery grins - were hilariously incongruous with the titles. This, of course, did not escape the keen eye of my son who spent the time making fun of each one in turn. In addition, there was an advertisement that read something like, "Irritable bowel syndrome feels like a shadow is following me all the time." This featured a woman with wide, fearful eyes staring over her shoulder at a stalker toilet seat. (You can't make this stuff up.) Our laughter must have carried to the far reaches of the building because we were not kept waiting long. (Hmm...I'll have to remember that next time I'm stuck in the doctor's office.)

Ultimately, we left with a well-wrapped ankle, a pair of crutches, and a hankering for something sweet. (The puppy dog look of a limping 15-year-old is hard to resist.) So, off to Sonic we went for ice cream treats. You might imagine that this giant of boy would order something extravagant like a banana split with extra toppings and whipped cream, but he (conservatively) chose a grape cream slush. Following suit, I had a cherry limeade chiller. Both of these concoctions are comprised of a fountain drink mixed with vanilla ice cream. I've never actually considered mixing slush with ice cream, but the effect is like a dreamsicle in multiple flavors. (Grape was tasty, but watermelon would have been my choice!) The cherry limeade was better, though, since it contains fresh squeezed limes plus maraschino cherry juice for sweetness. This coupled with soft serve and topped with whipped cream and a cherry for color was so thick it called for a spoon. (I had to let it set about 10 minutes before I could slurp it through a straw, but it was worth the wait!)

Obviously, the lesson here is that all hurts can be cured with a little care, a little love, and a lot of ice cream.