One of my weaknesses is ice cream. It's so bad that I cannot allow myself to have it in my freezer in any large quantities. I simply do not have enough self control to stop at a sensible amount so I just remove the temptation. For years I liked complicated ice cream. It had to have extras to it. Nuts, candy, sprinkles, swirls, ribbons, chunks, all kinds of bells and whistles. The more the better. So to save myself the stress of fighting temptation, I just keep it out of the house.   

My son inherited my love of ice cream but, like most young kids, he likes his food plain. He's not allowed to have big servings of sweets so we try to buy him treats that come in individual serving sizes. So one day he pointed out to me at the store that we could get ice cream in the small cups. So I said sure. We went home and after dinner we each had a dish of simple vanilla ice cream. I mean it's not like it was my first time of plain ice cream but it had been a while. I sat and ate a small cup of the creamy goodness on its own and loved every luscious bite. Then we found it also came in chocolate.  Occasionally, when we are in the mood for a treat, we'll eat one of these delicious, yet frugal cups of ice cream. Without all the add-ins I am able to really taste the flavor, chocolate being my favorite and usual choice, and feel the texture of the ice cream. When I am done eating it there isn't the usual hodge-podge of flavors in my mouth. It is just so satisfying in its simplicity that I haven't gone back to my complex ice cream choices. 

The evolution of my ice cream tastes strikes me as an apt metaphor for what is happening all around us. Going through financial hard times is nothing new. The rise and fall of economics is cyclical and has been ever since man decided goods and services had value. How humans react to lean times has varied throughout the centuries. Looking at it from the now I think Americans have surprised themselves.

Generally speaking, Americans are viewed as self-indulgent. We spend what we don't have on what we don't need to impress people we don't know or don't care about. We felt no trepidations about acquiring debt and living for today. We held on to our frivolous habits through dips, bubble bursts and downturns. We didn't even panic when we experienced a nosedive. Regardless of the hard edge we portray sometimes, we can be very optimistic. 

So it may have taken us a while and we have had to wallow in this valley for some time for the breadth of this current economic funk to sink in but we have found a way to Americanize this recession. We are the inventors of what's hot/what's not. We are the ones who determine what's in and what's out. So rather than be daunted by our money woes, we have found our stride and made frugality hot and found the it factor in simplicity.

Everyone I talk to is talking the language of cutting back. Comparing notes on the best source of coupons is cool. Budgeting is the new Sudoku. Consignment shops and Goodwill stores are places to be seen. Simple pleasures are once again satisfying.

People are more comfortable with learning how to do things themselves and are replacing the pursuit of things with the pursuit of experiences. Trips to the store with our kids have gone from moments of indulgence to teachable moments. 

Who knows when economic times will turn around? Who knows if things will ever be the same as they were? Who knows if we even want things to go back to the way they were or what that even means? What this turn of events has given us is an understanding and appreciation of the pleasure of simplicity. 

For months I've been eyeing this playset for sale and thinking how much I would love to get it for my son to play with. I've lamented the fact that it costs almost two grand and I just can't justify such an expense. I felt bad that I couldn't get it for him until we went on a recent field trip to a farm. He and his friends spent 30 minutes climbing over old logs and loving it. Like a lot of kids, my son has a lot of toys. Most of them have been acquired on sale or from the various yard sales and consignment sales I frequent. Still, there are a lot of them. This past week he has spent every afternoon playing with a balloon that has gotten progressively more deflated and loving it.

To survive and perhaps even enjoy the economic turmoil we are currently experiencing we have to remember there is a lot we can learn from children. Probably the best thing they can teach us is to always remember that the key to enjoying life is never complicated. It's as simple and delicious as plain chocolate ice cream. 

- Contact Daily News contributing columnist Mariel Blake at marielfblake@gmail.com.