The Ice Cream Lesson

August 21, 2025

One hot summer day sometime in the 1950s, my mother and her cousin Geri decided to have a contest: Who could make her ice cream cone last the longest? I can picture them in my mind (in black and white, of course)... two little girls side by side on a front porch step in Elizabeth, New Jersey, both determined to win by taking the tiniest, most precise licks and waiting a long time between each.

By the time she told me the story, my mother couldn't even remember who won; what actually lasted the longest in the game was the lesson she took away and passed along to me decades later. By focusing so hard on drawing out the experience, she and Geri missed out on what they could have had: the simple joy of eating an ice cream cone in the summer sun next to someone you love, and actually tasting it.

It’s the perfect metaphor for this moment on the calendar. As summer starts to fade, the temptation is either to rush headlong into fall, already dreaming of sweaters and pumpkin spiced everything, or to cling tightly to summer’s last bits, cramming in so many experiences that we have no time to enjoy what’s actually left. The sweet spot—the real savoring—comes from sensing where we are and leaning into it fully. Not devouring summer in two bites, and not dissecting it into microscopic moments, either. Just living in it, with all of our senses awake.

It's indeed a lesson worth passing to our kids: Savoring is about being fully present in the moment you’re in. It means eating the ice cream at a satisfying pace... not racing, not dragging, just being. So as August winds down, remember to smell the sunscreen, listen to the cicadas, feel the humidity. Hand your kids an ice cream cone, tell them my story, and enjoy the moment as it is, together, whether the cone is melting fast or lingering perfectly. Because that's what summer is for.

—Debra Ross, publisher

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