Cold Stone Creamery Day

Two years ago on March 15, I took Natalie out for ice cream to the Cold Stone Creamery on Thayer Street. It was our first time there. It was a rainy Thursday night. Roslyn was sick and Chris stayed home with her. I really wanted ice cream (for some reason), so I took my little pumkin out. We shared a waffle cone with dark chocolate ice cream and banana ice cream. Natalie was excited about the whole outing. She loved watching the lights, the people, and she enjoyed the ice cream a lot. (Yes, there was humming with each spoonful.) We had a great time together. It is one of my favorite memories of something just the two of us shared.

Last year, we went to Cold Stone Creamery to remember Natalie and this special memory. It is now part of our family's tradition as we lead up to the dreaded March 18. We explained to Roslyn why we do this; that it's a way for us to remember how much fun Natalie was and how much we miss her as a family. Roslyn was excited to go out for ice cream, but she also seemed to understand the meaning behind it. As we sat, I told her about the things Natalie did while we were there. Roslyn wanted to "run laps" around the railing like Natalie had done. It was very sweet. Roslyn lit a candle on the gratefulness.org web site and told me to write, "I love you, little sister."

Today, they didn't have dark chocolate, but they did have banana, so I had that. Chris had sweet cream with blueberry sauce, in honor of our girl who loved blueberries. It was sad and sweet, but a good thing we did as we begin this most painful week.

Here's Roslyn and Natalie from February, 2007. My two beautiful girls.