7.22.2011

7.21.11: The Last Stand

     One of the things on our Summer List was having a lemonade stand.  We have done this in the past and the kids have always thought it was the greatest.  I really thought they were too old for a Lemonade Stand but they wanted to have one -- I think mostly to "make money".  The problem is you have to be home to have a lemonade stand and you have to be stocked with... lemonade stuff.  Recently, when we found the cute little accessories on Target's Summer Clearance it reminded us it is time to sell lemonade.  So that, combined with record high temps, we decided yesterday was the day!  I did my running around in the morning so we could be home for the afternoon.  We decided to make it a Lemonade and Fresh Watermelon stand.
     The girls made very cute signs, we bought lemons, cups, watermelon, ice and some frozen concentrate and powder mixes.  (Sorry, no time for fresh squeezed!)  Since our street branches into two cul-de-sac streets together, we do not get much traffic, so the kids took turns standing at the end of our street with signs, etc...  Gradually some of our nice neighbors took pity and came out of their air conditioned houses and bought some lemonade.  It was sooooooooo HOT out (98 degrees)!!  One of my friends drove over from like 5 miles away, the kids were texting their friends (modern day marketing) and then their moms were driving them over to get some lemonade, so it was good to visit with some people....for awhile....







     Sometimes I wish this was one of those "perfect blogs", with the perfect house and the seemingly perfect mom and children.  It's not.  I have higher expectations for my teen and tweens than when they were younger.  The truth is cooperation was lacking between siblings.  The cleanup did NOT go smoothly and there was a lot of unnecessary bickering.  I also would have preferred that my kids did not see $$$ signs in their eyes when a few generous people insisted on overpaying for the lemonade.  In the end, I think the heat got to everyone (crabby!) and perhaps it was even tooooo hot for a lemonade stand!?
     So, what started with good intentions will now be known as our LAST lemonade stand.  My kids are not cute and little anymore...they are bigger and sometimes they even forget to treat each other with respect.  I was disappointed at the lack of cooperation.  Thankfully, they are not like that every day.  Perhaps what they did learn now that they are older is that making money is often less about fun and more about work!
     So, this mom says...lemonade stand CLOSED! 


  

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