Ice Cream

One hot August afternoon in Calgary, Obah-chan (grandma) and her husband took their two granddaughters to a nearby park which was located along the Bow River.  At that time, the older granddaughter, M, was going to be 5 years old, and the younger one E would soon be 2 in September. The granddaughters looked a little tired after playing at the playground where there were slides and swings and then watched Canadian geese swimming on the pond with their goslings. So Obah-chan’s husband suggested having ice cream as a reward for their good behavior. With enthusiasm, they all walked to the ice cream shop at the entrance of the park. 

When Obah-chan’s husband asked everyone what flavor of ice cream they wanted, M said chocolate, E and Obah-chan said strawberry. So, her husband said to the lady at the store,

 "We would like to have four ice cream cones, please.”

Then the lady asked,

"What flavor would you like?" 

"One chocolate with a small cone. Three strawberries, One, large, one small and one baby size.”

After ordering, the lady scooped the ice cream on the cone one by one, and handed the cones to Obah-chan’s husband who in turn gave them to the grandchildren and Obah-chan.  When granddaughter E received her cone, she suddenly fell silent and began to stare at her grandparents. Without noticing this, they took their granddaughters to a picnic bench and sat down to eat their ice cream cones. No one noticed E’s behavior as they were busy eating their delicious ice cream.  However, after a couple of minutes, Obah-chan felt something was wrong with granddaughter E…  So, she glanced at her and then realized that she hadn’t yet taken a bite of her ice cream. 

"What's wrong sweetheart?  You don’t like it?"  Obah-chan asked E anxiously. 

The granddaughter E kept silent and continued to stare at her grandparents.  That's when Obah-chan suddenly realized that E was dissatisfied with her ice cream.  Her cone was not as big as everyone else’s. It was very tiny.  Afterall, her cone was a baby size. It must have hurt her pride. Trying to rectify the situation, Obah-chan suggested that they should switch with each other's cone. Granddaughter E shyly nodded. So, they exchanged their ice cream cones after removing the parts where Obah-chan already licked.  In addition, Obah-chan asked her husband to spoon some of his untouuched part of the ice cream on top of E’s. Suddenly, E’s strawberry ice cream cone became much larger than her sister’s chocolate ice cream cone.  With a satisfied smile, and in no time, granddaughter E finished the whole ice cream cone.  She seemed very proud that she could eat as much as everyone else around her. 

The grandparents learned a good lesson that day.  Just because their granddaughter E was a baby, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t eat ice cream as much as everyone else. They had a glimpse of granddaughter E’s competitive nature which she usually wouldn’t reveal in public.

She is now 24 years old and over the years, the grandparents saw her determination and competitiveness in anything she has done all these years.  Especially when it came to dancing. She has been dancing since she was 5 years old and now, she is auditioning for a job in New York, Europe and Vancouver. Even if they have not offered her a job and she continues to audition for her dream job, what a wonderful life she is leading right now. Obah-chan and her husband admire her determination and accomplishments in her life. As for E’s competitiveness, her parents and older sister M may have a completely different opinion of her being QUIETLY competitive.