Lemonade Stand

Life rule #1 Never pass a lemonade stand and when I stop pay the kiddos double.

This seems like a silly and simple life rule but it is really hard to follow. The real point of course is to slow down and never to be so busy that we pass by when there is an opportunity to support someone else.

Think about the joy kids have when they first decide to have a lemonade stand. They enthusiastically get mom to help with making lemonade,  gathering cups and carefully creating the perfect sign. Then they grab a table and some chairs from the yard and wait. Sometimes that is the end of it. People are in a hurry and most adults really don't have a strong desire for a grubby fingered cup of lemonade anyway. So these precious, little entrepreneurs drink all the profits and give up after a couple boring hours. Defeated!

The reason to stop at a lemonade stand has nothing to do with thirst or the perfect glass of lemonade. Those of us who stop do so to reach out and encourage little people. I don't think there is a person who didn't have a lemonade stand when they were a kid. Memories of those stands are brightened when caring neighbors and passers by take a couple minutes and a couple quarters out of their life to make a kid's day. We all want to be appreciated and to feel like a success. One of my kids biggest thrills was when a police officer stopped at their lemonade stand and told them how great it tasted. His stopping made their day and only took him a couple minutes.

A part of putting others first is taking time even when we are busy or cranky to reach out anyway. Drinking a cup of lemonade lovingly poured into a crinkled paper cup can be that way of reaching out and slowing down your day. So as the weather warms up put a few quarters in your car and take time to stop for your sake as well as the kids.

In HIm,
Joyful
4-10-11