Lemonade Stands

I remember when we were little (I am talking back in the 1980’s) we used to sit in the back of our station wagon and wave at the drivers behind us. We would have contests to see just how many people would wave back. It would elate us when they did! If there happened to be a semi, we would put our hand in the air and pull down, which of course symbolized a honking of their outrageously loud horns. We would laugh and smile when the truck drivers complied with our childish requests. It was awesome, well, for us anyway. It used to scare the heck out of my parents when they got honked at for apparently no reason!

We would also draw and paint pictures during the summer and then go door to door trying to sell them so that we could make some money to go to the corner store to buy some Juju fish and Big League Chew.

The neighborhood kids and I also devised many a lemonade stand, sold Girl Scout Cookies door to door and performed chores for our neighbors for an extra 25 cents here and there. If we were lucky, we would get a $5 bill when someone was feeling extra generous. Those were magical times.

What makes these times so memorable for me is that I realized back then that other people – even strangers – can make an impact in a child’s life. They did mine.

I learned that there are those who waved back and those who scowled at a bunch of silly kids.

I learned how to market and how to sell. What worked and what didn’t.

I learned how to get turned down and how to come up stronger the next time. 

I figured out how to be tenacious and the skills I learned from dealing with strangers still proves itself to be such a valuable lesson even today.

I learned the value of hard work and good work ethic. Whatever I put my heart into, I did it with purpose and it would pay off every single time.

The small stuff ends up being the big stuff. That was true back then and it is still true today.

So the next time you are sitting in traffic and the child next to you waves, wave back and smile. Maybe even make a funny face! The next time the neighborhood kids are having a sale of any sort, take some time to buy something and then tell them to “keep the change” for their hard work. The influence your kind actions will have an everlasting effect on them, I promise.

Jen