The Joys of a Summer Lemonade Stand

Ah, the joys of a summer lemonade stand.

A few years ago, my children begged me to let them run a lemonade stand. They must have seen one of their favorite television characters doing this (and you can be sure that high jinks ensued.) A lemonade stand ranks second on the list of things I dread orchestrating, topped only by hosting a Halloween party (yes, we've done that too. You'll read about it in a few months.)

Finally I caved. I bought the cups and the lemonade (Frozen from concentrate. Who wants to drink homemade lemonade? If you're going to pony up fifty cents you might as well get something palatable). I hauled out the table and placed it under our shade tree by the road. I made neon poster board signs and hung them on either end of our street. I stopped by the bank and got a roll of quarters and some singles, in order to make change.

Are you noticing a pattern to any of the aforementioned sentences? Yes, the key word is "I". I did all the prep work. I mixed up the lemonade. I even baked a batch of my incredible, homemade chocolate chip cookies, since the kids felt a free cookie would sweeten the deal (Who wants to eat store-bought cookies? If you're going to pony up fifty cents you might as well get something palatable.)

With everything in place, my children sat down at the end of our driveway and shouted to any and all passing cars "Ice cold lemonade, fifty cents a glaaaaaa-aaaass. Free cookie with every purchase." A carnival barker would have been proud. I, of course, had to station myself in the front yard to discourage any would-be kidnappers from driving off with my children. As cars zoomed by, I was affronted. Who wouldn't want to stop and help out a couple of budding entrepreneurs? (Forgetting of course the many times I myself had zoomed past other people's kids hawking lemonade).

Eventually, however, the cars began to slow and then stop. Kindhearted strangers (and more than a few friends) decided a nice cold glass of lemonade (don't forget the free cookie) would certainly hit the spot. Most people told my children to keep the change, and by the end of the day my kids had earned about forty bucks. Jackpot!

I wish I could tell you that my children were altruistic in their endeavor. I read all these stories about wonderful, kind-hearted children who donate all their lemonade proceeds to the local food pantry or the animal shelter or the American Cancer Society. How proud those parents must be of their little philanthropists-in-training. What a wonderful beginning of a lifetime of service to others.

My children, on the other hand, begged me to take them to the toy store as soon as we were done counting the money so they could blow the whole wad on Transformers. Sigh.

As I write this, I am taking my last batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. The signs are made, the lemonade is cooling in the downstairs fridge and my kids are gearing up to hawk their wares.

This summer, however, will be different. This summer the proceeds will not be spent on a bunch of Transformers.

This summer, in all likelihood, the money will be blown on Legos.

Addendum: The sale was a success, in large part due to a mass email sent to friends, suggesting they might like to detour by our house during their daily travels. Social networking at its best! Thanks to all the kind strangers who stopped and supported their endeavor as well. And finally, both children decided to donate a portion of their loot to buying food for the Food Pantry. There's hope for them yet.