I took Xavier and Ea to the pediatric dentist today. The best thing about taking the kids to an actual kid dentist are the distractions. TVs on the ceiling, PlayStation Games available and the anticipation of the Treasure Chest toys if they are good.
The kids are good, they get their 'treasures' and we are off....
We head straight to Big Scoop, the local ice cream parlor that has been an icon of the Valley for as long as I have been alive. Big Scoop holds traditions and secrets and memories in it's deep booths and red and white tile floor and menu that hasn't changed for decades.
When I was in Eighth Grade my entire andvery small class would meet at Cinema Five to watch the latest flick. I remember screaming out loud and grabbing my best friends' hand during Jurassic Park. I can still smell the super buttery popcorn that I accidentally kicked over while watching Cool Running with my first boyfriend. I was mortified!
After each movie we would all walk the half mile from the cinema to Big Scoop. We were young and carefree and Big Scoop was the place to go.
We would cram 10 of us into a booth suitable for 5. We would share bites of ice cream and sips of milkshakes. We would laugh and laugh and laugh.
This is one of my favorite memories of grade school.
About six years ago, when Ea was 4, we took the family to Big Scoop. Again, all five of us were crammed into a small, red, super comfy booth laughing and loving each other. Ea went to the bathroom and after a few minutes I went to check on her. I could hear her crying and pounding the wooden door from the inside... she could not figure out the lock and was trapped.
I, of course, freak out.... Tom, of course, remained calm. The cook comes out with a screw driver and figures out how to get the door handle off, this doesn't help and we still can't get in and Ea can't get out. I am talking to Ea through the small hole where the handle used to be telling her to stay calm and that everything was going to be okay. I am telling her this... but am really talking to myself. Trying to calm myself.
The cook quickly dismantles the hinges and the entire door comes down.... we have Ea back. We are back together. We are Safe.
We can laugh about this now....
Memories, memories, memories.
After the dentist this afternoon we head straight to Big Scoop. This is a tradition that has been passed down from my mother. As a little girl my mom would religiously take my sister and I to get milkshakes and French fries after going to the dentist. This was our reward... this was our 'treasure box'.
I remember mom telling us to chew the fries on the back teeth.....not disrupt the effect of the fluoride. LOL. I love this tip.
Sitting at the ice cream shop this afternoon I am savoring the fact that this tradition has continued. Fries and Ice Cream post dentist is something that my kids will love and remember the way that my sister and I do.
I love traditions.... especially the small, senseless ones that are only ours.
What traditions do you hold dear?
What traditions have been passed from one generation to the next?
Which traditions are new & are just being formed?
I love traditions.....
XO,
Mari