Novelty

When we learned of my dairy intolerance a year and a half ago, the only substitute 'ice cream' I ate was vanilla. There was almond vanilla, soy vanilla, coconut vanilla and so on; but it was all vanilla. And I didn't mind because I didn't know anything different. It was the only flavor I ate for about a year.

But then, my mom bought me Mint Chocolate Chip coconut ice cream.

After the first bite, I sat there, almost shocked, staring at my bowl. My mouth watered as it burst with uncontrollable flavor. I can't remember if I shoveled it into my mouth or rationed it, but both seem right.

New ice cream flavors are a novelty. Rare, long train rides are, too. Even new textbooks and, as a writer, new story ideas.

But they are only a novelty because of their infrequency. Once they happen more often, the novelty becomes routine and the monotony sets in.

Then, the scenery becomes too familiar and the train-sickness sets in, textbooks become dry when they aren't moistened with reader interest, and writing a story takes hundreds of hours of hard work.

And no matter how many new flavors of ice cream you buy, you always get used to them.

But, I don't believe the novelty has to wear away.