It’s 10 a.m. on a Sunday in the summer. I’m getting up getting ready and will soon hop into my car to take a 45-minute drive to work. All my friends are getting together and headed out to the beach, and of course I’m a little bummed, but the thought of where I work reminds me that my day is going to be just great anyway. Now, I know what you’re thinking: how could work be better than a beach day? And trust me, I love the beach, but there’s something about my job that makes missing that beach day OK. (Plus, you’ll most definitely find me at the beach on my day off.) And again you’re probably thinking: where does this girl work and why does she love it so much? Well, funny you should ask because I’ll tell you...

I work at an ice cream shop.

A nice cute little store on Cape Cod, and it is honestly one of my favorite places to be, and here’s why:

1. ICE CREAM, duh!

Who doesn’t love ice cream?? (Maybe those who are lactose intolerant … but we do have sorbets which are dairy free!) On a nice hot summer day, what better way to cool off than with a big ‘ole scoop of purple cow with some chocolate jimmies?! Mmmm, my absolute fave!

2. Summer time!

Summer is my favorite season, and with summer season comes the ice cream season! Our store opens in April and closes in September, aka some of the greatest months ever. There’s really not too much to say other than summer is the bomb dot com aka so is ice cream in the summer.

3. The customers.

Just imagine a time over the summer when you’ve had a long day at the beach or the pool and you and your family go to get ice cream instead of cooking for dinner. You’re never sad about that, I’m sure. Parents: you don’t have to cook, and kids: ice cream, enough said. But in all seriousness, I swear no one is ever upset when they’re coming to an ice cream shop, and this is very much one of my favorite things about working in the ice cream industry: everyone is always happy. How could you ever not be happy with ice cream? And especially since the workers are scooping and you, as a customer, don’t have to lift a finger! (Except maybe to clean up a drippy melty mess of what once was hard serve to very very soft serve off your 3-year-old).

4. Co-workers.

I work with some of the nicest people I have ever met. Again, there’s that vibe you get from an ice cream shop where everyone is chipper, bubbly and happy, and that same thing goes for the employees also! We as scoopers need to be excited, motivated, joyful and awake! With the rushes that we get, we’re always on our toes running back and forth from freezer to freezer. And we have to stay on our toes when you bring your whole extended family in and want 20 cones with loads of toppings! But don’t you fret, we’re determined to get you your dessert (maybe even a banana split) lickety split!

5. Location.

As I said, I work at a shop on the Cape, and this is one of the reasons why I love it so much. We get so many families who just came from the beach, time-share owners and lots of tourists from all around the world even! And if I have a few hours off before a shift, I may even head down to the beach! Beach and ice cream? What better way to spend the day! Although the drive is a little much just to work part time, I wouldn’t change it for the world because of the location on the Cape. I mean who doesn’t love Cape Cod?!

6. EVERYTHING.

There is just so much happiness and so much to love in an ice cream shop that honestly everything about working there is my favorite thing about it. There isn’t one thing about it that I don’t like. Making frappes, frosting cakes, making waffle cones, cleaning the freezers, scooping a large (three big ole scoops) onto a tiny sugar cone, all of it, I love.

Ultimately, I’m the kind of person who just loves happiness and making people smile, so right away when I started my first shift, I knew this would be a perfect match for me! And I really do not mind the long drive as I love crossing the Sagamore Bridge and seeing any boats passing under me. Because I don’t live on the Cape and the drive is longer than others, I generally work doubles! So I will work from noon when we open to about 11 p.m. depending on how long it takes for us to clean up after we close at 10 p.m. And I know what you’re thinking: “That’s such a long day!” And yes it is! But I don’t mind it whatsoever! We have shift changes around 5 p.m., so workers go and new ones come in for the night, and the days just go by so smoothly really! And with all those great things I mentioned before, I love every second that I am there! The scooping, the sundae decorating, the customers, the children, the employees, the ice cream, the homemade baked goods, the atmosphere, everything, I love it all.

Every morning when I get up to go to work, I look forward to it. It’s one of my favorite places ever. I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to work here.

So if you’re ever around Cape Cod near Sandwich, stop by at Sweet Caroline’s for a little summer treat!