As I sit here on this very still summer afternoon. I note that it’s quiet. Too quiet.
It takes me a minute to realize where the unsettling noise is not coming from. It’s the absence of the familiar theme song of every good summer afternoon: the sing-song tune of the ice cream truck.
I haven’t seen that truck yet this summer and I miss it. Besides its “Pop Goes the Weasel” soundtrack, I miss the sound of bare feet hitting the floor, running frantically to a piggybank, the tinkle of change on a table and then a loud declaration, “I’m getting a Screwball!” 
I wonder if our ice cream man is taking an extended vacation? Perhaps there’s a shortage of sprinkles. Then I shudder at the thought, Could this be another casualty of the gas crisis? Please say it isn‘t so!!
I can’t imagine this particular summertime treat suddenly gone. Entire happy childhoods hang in the balance! Summer should taste like stale bubblegum at the bottom of a plastic cup of orange sherbet with a side of exhaust fumes. Somehow, a Push-Up just doesn’t taste the same from a home freezer.
Ice Cream Man, wherever you are -- please come back. You are sorely missed.
(And I will even remain in Good Humor if that tinkling of change from the piggybank is replaced by a thud of a checkbook from the fuel surcharge.)
- Suburban Diva http://www.suburbandiva.com/
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
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