Lemonade 25 cents

This is a pretty good semblance of what it looked like.

Here's the full story:

We had just finished a little time on a nearby golf course this weekend, courtesy of gift certificates recently received. It was about 82 (in the shade) and we had been in the sun for two hours! We were hot and sweaty and thirsty. As we drove down the country road from the course we saw a little boy, maybe seven, on his front lawn, waving his hands as we approached. As we slowed a little and passed by Anne said, "Oh they have a lemonade stand on their porch, shall we stop?" Yes, I agreed and we did a quick turnaround, found their driveway and drove in.

I reached into my purse, got out and approached the large open-air front porch. The lemonade team awaited me: the boy, his younger sister and their mother, who came out of the front door as I went up the stairs....behind her was another boy, maybe 3, who came out and sat in his miniature lawn chair!

The girl says, "Mom, you didn't think anyone would stop, but they did!" "Yes, they did," Mom answered, smiling.

"I'll have two, please," I said. The boy got two very generous plastic cups ready, as his sister turned to Mom saying, "Would you pour, Mom?" As Mom was finishing the pouring, the little girl looked up at me and said, kindly but assertively, "That will be 25 cents, please."

-Pause-All during this scene, flashing through my mind was the chapter in Robert Fulghum's book, It was on fire when I lay down on it. The chapter was on Laws of Life, and one of his laws of life was this: "Buy lemonade from any kid who is selling it." I believe he went on to talk about how children learn about life mostly by watching the adults around them. When we buy lemonade, Girl Scout cookies, Christmas wrap, candy or anything else they are selling, we strengthen their knowledge that adults are supportive of them, even some adult they barely know.

So when she finished giving me the price, as her brothers stood by and her mother smiled and smiled at us, I said, "Oh, honey, we have a lot more than 25 cents for your delicious lemonade." And I gave her the $5 bill I had pulled from my purse.

Her Mom continued to smile gratefully at us and as we got back in the car, again we heard, "Mom, you didn't think anyone would stop but they did!"