I scream for ice-cream!

Summer evenings in a small town are one of the best things about rural living. As the sun falls (finally) behind some trees, it’s bearable enough to gather the family and step out from our dark, air conditioned home. The streets are quiet, the still air punctured occasionally with the shout of kids enjoying a backyard pool or riding bikes along the roads. As we meander along, friendly neighbors wave from their front porch. Others out in their golf carts slow down to say hello and comment on the lovely evening. Our son puts his feet up and leans back in his Radio Flyer trike, as we push him around town. Up and down the streets we go, until we run out of pavement and have to turn back home. We walk for walking sake, because in our small town, with a boy still too small to fully enjoy a playground, there is literally no where to go. The post office, bank and hardware store closed hours ago, and… yup, that’s it.

No restaurants to visit, no shop windows to peruse, no cinemas or leisure center to enjoy, or even a lake or deep river (is that irony?) to stroll along. This is a very small town. So, we circle back to our driveway and enjoy ice cream from our freezer on our back patio as the sun dips below the horizon. This mostly idyllic (depending on the frenzied state of our toddler and the biting status of the summer bugs) scene repeats itself contentedly throughout these dog days of summer. Ah, the serenity.

The smallness/seclusion/isolation of our town is both an appeal and a constant frustration. We gratefully leave the noise of big cities behind, while also longing for the living pulse of a bustling town. We gratefully enjoy safe, quiet streets, while also resenting the long drives to shop for essentials. We gratefully enjoy our evening walks as a family, while also longing for a destination instead of just a loop.

I am certain we are not the only ones who live in this tension... I am certain, because this last week a gorgeous little hole-in-the-wall ice cream shop opened, just one block away. In their backyard they have opened a little shed, decked out to serve soft serve ice-cream, sundaes, and shakes, as well as take-out food options. I know they have technically started a business, but for the pure joy of being able to walk to a place to eat or drink, it feels much more like a community service. The other day I watched a couple go by our house in their golf cart, ice-cream cones in hand. The novelty of such a scene made me look twice. (Did I mention this was a very small town?) In seven years of living here I have NEVER seen a person with food they purchased in town - that wasn't from a one-off fundraising event. Amazing. So already our evening walks have been joyfully (sweet-fully) enhanced, and while we probably (probably) won't stop there every day... it brings me a lot of happiness to know we could. And we might.

Thanks for opening BG'z! We hope you stay serving our town for years to come!

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