Grandpa’s Gooseberry Ice Cream

You could count on it. Every summer the Ambrose Call family would come for a visit with Grandpa and Grandma Call. In my recollection these visits always created excitement among my mother’s brothers and sisters who liked to talk about politics and then when the grandkids got old enough to offer their opinions the excitement increased by several decibels. Every summer after the family had gathered, Grandpa would remind the family that Grandma would appreciate no political discussions. I don’t ever remember Grandma having any success preventing this discussion. Personally, I really enjoyed listening to the political or religious debates that always ensued, and I think I learned a lot. 


Somehow every year while this political and religious verbal onslaught was taking place Grandpa would sneak out to start the preparations for a family treat that everyone knew was coming. No one forgot about Grandpa’s homemade gooseberry ice cream. We all looked forward to it, got excited about it even if it meant using his grandkid’s power to crank the ice cream maker. We all felt that whatever we were asked to do was worth it because everyone looked forward to eating this special treat, that always delighted our palettes. 


When the ingredients were all mixed together, the ice and salt were put into the ice cream maker, the lid was tightly secured, and then grandpa assigned the task of cranking it to his grandchildren. The younger and luckier ones got their turn to crank the machine at the beginning of the process when the cranking was easy. The older, unlucky grandchildren took over when the ice cream was nearly finished, and it required extra power in order to finish the job. No one complained about their assignment because we knew what to expect when Grandpa took the lid off.


When it was finally finished Grandpa scooped the gooseberry ice cream into bowls for everyone to enjoy the most delicious banana ice cream ever made. Now wait a minute! The title of this story is ‘Grandpa’s Gooseberry Ice Cream’ so how did bananas get in it? The fact is he couldn’t fool us because tradition taught us that inside the kid powered ice cream maker Grandpa substituted bananas for gooseberries and we looked forward to it.


We loved this tradition and always had fun eating gooseberry ice cream, talking, and laughing with each other. Grandpa and Grandma loved to have their children and grandchildren visit them and celebrate the love this family really has for each other.


A great way to bring peace and security into the lives of our children is to create family traditions that they will fondly cherish and talk about for years to come because they remember the fun, feel the love, and want to pass this same tradition onto their children. 


I think one of the greatest benefits of Grandpa’s gooseberry ice cream was that it ended the political discussion that was raging in the other room. I’m sure that every year when this happened, Grandma offered a silent prayer of thanks!


Happy Failing Forward,


Calvert Cazier



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