This past Wednesday was National Chocolate Ice Cream Day in the United States. (Pausing for a celebratory horn playing in my imagination.) It’s an homage to a treat that delights people of all ages everywhere. And why wouldn’t it? First, it’s cold and a perfect way to take the edge off a sultry summer day. Second, its creamy and, as I’m dealing with a lingering sore throat due to a sinus infection, I am particularly grateful for the stuff right now. Finally, it’s chocolate and that just speaks volumes in a single word. Based on those criteria, I would vote for a day of recognition.

Even though I might have been all for chocolate ice cream’s day in the spotlight, I did get a little chuckle thinking about someone actually taking the time to select a day on the calendar to honor one single flavor of ice cream. In this fast-paced, tense world we live in today, I wondered what would it matter. I wondered how many would care. But apparently it does matter and apparently people do care as evidenced by the number of tweets that bounced around Twitter. (Yes, if you dig around there, you will find mine.)

Seeing people all over the country chiming about ice cream made me pause for thought and then smile. I’m not the only one out there who dips a spoon into the bowl and pulls out a glob far too big to take in one bite. I’m not the only one who savors that glob slowly, enjoying every morsel as it morphs from from a frozen solid to a cold liquid, sweet and viscous. I’m not the only one who feels transported from the fast-paced tense world of modern adulthood to a simpler time when I was a child and a bowl of chocolate ice cream could brighten any day.

Maybe the world could benefit from more attention on appreciating the simple things in life. Maybe if we members of the human race devoted more of our bandwidth to spreading happy thoughts rather than engaging in verbal sparring matches often riddled with insults, prejudices, and other venomous rhetoric, the tension that permeates our society would decrease. A bowl of ice cream seems like a fine place to start.

And maybe a day in June is the perfect time for this celebration. The school year is over (or soon will be). Families all over are planning summer vacations, picnics, and backyard barbecues. It is the beginning of a time filled with opportunities for taking a step out of the rat race and enjoying simple pleasures.

I, for one, will be raising my spoon as often as I can. Cheers!