Who Thinks Up These Things?

We were thinking summer today…the weather was way too nice for this time of the year. The curly-headed girl is ALWAYS asking me, “If I do this, will it count for school?” Today, she asked about a lemonade stand.

Who am I to stand in the way of learning and progress?

They mixed up some truly awful Kool-Aid type drink and threw in a sliced up lemon for good measure. They called their dad to have him deliver paper cups. They made wildly colored signs and figured out how to set up the table. Then they ran into a snag:

“Mom, there’s not enough traffic here.” (True.)

“We could go to Gramma’s house!” (You should ask first.)

“Yeah, let’s take our roller blades!”

The dirty little secret was out. They weren’t so much interested in learning first hand about supply and demand. They just wanted to go put Gramma and Grampa’s new cement driveway to the use for which it was obviously intended. So we packed everything up in the van and drove to their house.

To give them credit, they did set up the table and tape the signs to it. They tried not to let roller-blades that were already on their feet distract them from potential customers. When a car drove by, they zoomed back down the driveway to wave wildly and flap a sign at whoever happened to be driving it. But traffic was slim and the weather was only marginally fit for a cold glass of lemonade at best. Even the guys roofing across the street weren't tempted. Things were looking rather grim.

Then a car stopped at the end of the block and turned around. A little gray-haired lady stepped out and ordered a glass of lemonade for twenty-five cents. She paid for it with two quarters, thanked the girls and drove away. The girls were thrilled. Someone appreciated their effort. Their dejection was forgotten in an instant.

That one glass of lemonade and the kindness of a stranger made all the difference in the world.