Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
Once every summer
Just as a treat
My dad he went a’shopping
Down pavements soft with heat
We’d wait with bated breath
Was it just a dream
What if our corner shop
Had run out of ice cream?
Or perhaps the Gods of soda
Had decided not to sell
Or maybe all the angels
Had sent our treats to hell
A gift to make them smile
In that cold and dreary place
When on this Earth were children
With hope shining from their face
Our nerves were wracked
Our hands they shook
We were standing at the window
But were far too scared to look
Our mum she smiled – you silly kids
Your dad won’t let you down
He knows how much this means to you
He’ll cover any ground
He’ll fight the weasels and the bears
And scare the wolves away
He’ll battle through the sunbeams
Just to make your day
He’ll bring those treats
Right through this door
We’ll eat them for our tea
And sharing will remind us
That this little family
Are all for one and one for all
As it’s supposed to be
Those memories of summer treats
Stay with me to this day
Throughout the years
All through my life
They’ve never gone away
Mum and dad
My Bro and me
Plus our lovely Nan
Were just a normal family
Who shared the good times and the bad
Drove each other slightly mad
Fought and argued
Moaned and groaned
But even so they were my home
As you move on the memories fade
The past becomes obscured by age
But all it takes is soft ice cream
To bring back that warm summer dream
And then you know
Despite the strife
They were the ice cream
In your life
If you come from a ‘normal’ family, your perspective on life can change quite a lot as you get older. You come to understand the past more, how hard it is to be an adult, run a house, work, care for children, pay the bills.
You understand that your parents and grandparents got hurt too, that their past held pain, that they did their best as the people their life had made them.
When that happens the happier memories tend to come forward more, and the oddest things can trigger them. Like a question about childhood food.
With love and gratitude
Deb xx
Deb Hawken - Amorah 