The Best Way to Spend Your Dinner Break

The four middle-school-aged girls piled into my tiny Chevy, squealing with excitement over the upcoming adventure. The week before we had planned it—a trip to Highland Square between Summer Camp and Gardens. Any chance that they would forget the promise flew out the window as they proceeded to remind me multiple times about the upcoming adventure. And now here we were, blasting Disney songs and riding down one-way roads to the local ice cream shop, Mary Coyle’s. 

To any outsider, including myself, this time didn’t seem like much—ice cream and exploring Highland Square. But to these young women, it has seemed to be so much more as they have relayed their adventure to many in the two days following our time together.

They talk about Mary Coyle’s and the old décor, from the neon signs to the vintage stuffed animals, the metal serving dishes and the diner-esque tables. One insists that she is going there for her birthday, as she is in love with the entire atmosphere—and the ice cream. Another relays the ice cream flavors everyone got, from the chocolate chip cookies and cream to the double chocolate to the whitehouse to the coffee.

For myself, I keep quiet my favorite parts. Her excited face as she walked towards us and said, “The bathroom is SO COOL!” and they all followed her to check it out. When we all hunched over the bill, talking about the expense of our ice cream and knowing how much to give as a tip. Where she insisted on taking her napkin outside to the trash can because she didn’t think it was right for someone else to clean up after her, even as I insisted that that was the waitress’ job.  

They talk about window-shopping at Urban Revival, about the style at n.e.x.t and how much they loved the clothes and how much I didn’t that they don’t understand why. They relay the adventure at the record store, where I took a picture of all of them holding records to their faces, making is seem as if the records were a part of their body. 

But what they all relay is the time spent at The Market Path, a fair trade store in the Square where we learned about fair trade and saw products that had been worked for and sold at a fair price and by just means. “There’s a journal made of ELEPHANT POOP,” she told the story listeners, talking about the abundance of recycled goods in the store from other countries, like beads made from paper and instruments from tin cans. 

Another girl comments on how sad she was to hear about child slavery from other countries, and yet another talks about the fair trade chocolate we got to eat, assured that we were eating candy that was just in its means of production. They all light up as they talk about the jewelry that had a picture and story of the artist attached—beautiful people who’s stories seemed to be etched in the bracelets and earrings. They loved knowing who made the product, as it made it a personal experience.

As I sit next to them, hearing them relay the stories to other volunteers and their peers, I am nearly moved to tears as I recognize the power of relationship. I was surprised at the impact that this small amount of quality time had on them. Surprised that this time awakened in them a desire to learn about injustices even further.

Relationships are a powerful bond that is formed when love is shown through action.

Through the joys of eating ice cream and exploring with these incredible young women, this is what I'm learning.