Daniel's Sad Ice Cream Cone Story

This is another one of those "break your heart" moments where I realize that my boys are growing up.

Tonight Amber has a "girls' night out" with the ladies from our Bible study. It may be the last time she gets to hang out with them as a group before we move, so it was pretty important that she went.

The boys and I drove her to meet the girls and on the way home we were singing together in the car. I remembered a song my Grandma used to sing to me and without thinking I decided to sing it for the boys.

"Daniel, Josh, do you guys want to hear a new song? This is a song that Daddy's grandma used to sing to him when he was a little boy."

Here it is:

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Chocolate Ice Cream Cone
Author Unknown

My mama said if I'd be good,
She'd send me to the store
She said she'd bake some gingerbread
If I would sweep the floor.

She said if I would make the bed
And watch the telephone
That she would send me out to get
A chocolate ice cream cone.

And so I did the things she said
And then she made me some gingerbread
Then I went out, just me alone
And got my chocolate ice cream cone.

While coming back I stubbed my toe
Upon a big old stone
Now need I tell you that I dropped
My chocolate ice cream cone.

A little puppy came along
And he took a great big lick
And so I hit that mean old dog
With just a little stick.

Then he bit me where I sit down
And he chased me all over town
So, now I'm lost, I can't find my home
And all because of that chocolate ice cream cone

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Now, I know this is a sad song and I've often wondered why my Grandma would sing this song to her kids and grandkids, but she sang about dogs who died, orphans, and mean old neighbourhood men getting stuffed in a meat grinder, so this one seemed pretty tame and safe.

As soon as I was finished, Daniel said, "Daddy, that's so sad!"

"What's sad buddy?"

"Umm... when Grandma, when Daddy, when Daddy's grandma, ummm... when I was a little boy, when I was Jon, I went to the store and got a ice cream cone and I dropped it and a puppy licked it."

"Then what happened?"

"I hit him and he chased me."

Awwww... :( The poor guy. I'm amazed that he was able to follow the story and personalize it. He placed himself in the song, but he couldn't verbalize it any way but to say "when I was Jon".

I had to make up a new verse about getting a new ice cream cone and going home to share it with Mommy. Daniel thought that was much happier.