The Ice Cream Van Melody

Barefoot, sun‑baked pavement, that distant jingle and suddenly we sprinted down Grandma’s driveway, clutching change saved for school holidays...

There are some sounds that live forever in our hearts. For me, it is the distant chime of the ice cream van.

Even today, when I hear that familiar tune float through the air while sitting at my office desk, I am instantly transported back to long summer afternoons at my grandmother's house. The cousins and I would leap up from wherever we were, barefoot and wild with joy, coins clutched in our small hands. We would race up the driveway, hearts pounding not just with excitement, but with the sheer freedom of being young and together.

Sometimes we were chasing the ice cream van, and other times it was a dash to the corner tuck shop where we would spend our hard saved change on lucky packets, sour worms, fizz pops, push pops, fireball gum, Cadbury Flake, Chappies bubblegum, Bubbaloo gum, and those little whistle sherbet lollipops we could never resist that turned our mouths into a striking blue or red colour. That pocket money felt like treasure, earned through chores or saved from school snacks, and we would trade sweets and stories in the shade of a tree at Grandmom's house or the flats front yard. We laughed and played games like hopscotch, hide and seek, catches, spinning tops or traded and played Simba Tazos until the sky turned orange.

Those memories feel like golden light, warm, simple and safe.

A Different Kind of Childhood

I often wonder if kids today will ever get to feel the same kind of joy we did growing up. A joy that came from simple things. From real connection. From just being in the moment.

We did not grow up with screens or social media. We had fresh air, scraped knees, backyard games and the kind of boredom that made us creative. We were not entertained by algorithms, we made our own fun. Life moved slower. People were kinder. The world still had its challenges, but there was more softness in how we lived.

We were present. Not because someone told us to be mindful, but because we had nowhere else to be except exactly where we were.

So Much Has Changed

Now things feel louder. Faster. Childhood seems to be happening online. Everything is being recorded, shared and measured in likes and followers. Kids are running on school schedules and overloaded with homework that now becomes an extra curricular for the parent.

It makes me feel sad sometimes. Not just because it is different, but because something precious feels like it has been lost. That innocence. That calm. That space to just be a child without the pressure of being seen.

Kids today have so much more than we did, but I do not know if they truly have more joy.

And honestly I miss what we had. I don't think that the generation today will ever have the privilege of ever experience or knowing this pure joy.

Why These Memories Matter

That old ice cream van tune is more than just a sound. It is a feeling. It brings back memories of family, safety and pure joy. Of being wrapped in love and freedom and sunshine.

It reminds me of my grandmother's home in Durban. Of afternoons that felt endless. Of cousins who were like siblings and forever best friends. Of sticky fingers and bright sweets and stories that we still laugh about today. These memories are part of who we are. They remind us of a time before life became so busy. Before we got swept up in always trying to do more and be more. They are a gentle call back to something real.

Bringing Some of That Back

We cannot go back in time but maybe we do not need to.

We can create small moments like that again. We can slow down a little. Put the phones away. Buy the sweets. Tell the stories. Chase the ice cream van if we hear it.

Even just for a moment, we can choose to be present. We can give that kind of childhood joy to our own kids or even just to ourselves.

Because that feeling still lives in us.

So here is to lucky packets, barefoot runs and the way things used to be

To simple joys

To the kind of childhood that made us who we are

And to never forgetting what it felt like to just be free

Do you have a memory like this? Share it below. I would love to hear what made your childhood special 🍦

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