Life gave me lemonade!

One of my absolute favorite things to do as a kid was have a lemonade stand. I remember going to the grocery store with my mom to buy the lemonade mix and then coming home and mixing it up in a big pitcher. I would set the pitcher in a cooler of ice so that the lemonade didn’t get watered down. Then my best friend would come over and we would spend at least an hour making signs. We used stickers and bubble letters, and even balloons sometimes! We would then march up the street and post the signs on the stop signs before running back to the house to set up the stand. We sat in little lawn chairs under an umbrella and set up my mom’s card table with the drinks and money box. A delicious glass of lemonade was only 50 cents, and we were sure we were going to get rich of off the sales. I remember that as each car drove by without stopping, our hearts sank a little bit. I think the most we ever made in a day was $5.00, which when you split two ways, not very much. But it didn’t matter, we felt accomplished, we ended up with more money than we started with, and we had fun.

I remember the disappointment I felt when my mom told me I was too old to have a lemonade stand. But then something so fun happened yesterday…
I was driving to the grocery store to pick up some honey and peanut butter (a terrible thing to run out of). And on my way, I passed 3 kids on the street who were having a lemonade stand. I could only imagine how much fun they were having, despite the near 100 degree temperatures. They had made elaborate signs with glitter and everything, and the price was $1.50 for a glass of lemonade. I pulled the car over, knowing that, although I had just chugged a HUGE thing of Gatorade, I had to stop and buy some lemonade. I got out and approached the kids, who were clearly super excited! As they started pouring my lemonade, we talked for a minute and the little boy informed me that 50 cents of every dollar was going to the Humane Society. What a cool kid! He was going to save up the rest of his money for a Nintendo Wii. As I bought my lemonade, I found great satisfaction in knowing how excited I was making that kid.
I was so sad when I couldn’t have a lemonade stand of my own, yet I was so happy to be old enough to have enough money to buy lemonade from someone else. This reminded me of other situations in life and especially the whole “when one door closes, another door opens” philosophy. Just because I’m growing up doesn’t mean I can’t have fun anymore, it’s just different fun. And just because I’m sick doesn’t mean I can’t do anything; it just means I do different things.
Anyways, I know that was super random, so props to whoever read all the way through it. I hope everyone is well today and is having a great weekend. Hugs!

-Brooke-

p.s.-here's a great song that I have always loved. very relavent!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73aMawhB0TE