Reason #231
June 29, 2009
Why I love my neighborhood.
My kids and their friends do things like this. They are living the stereotypical childhood I really thought only existed in tv. It certainly does not resemble the childhood I had. At all.
They built the stand themselves. They took turns sitting outside in the 104 degree heat. They looked hot and sweaty and pitiful enough that the neighbors came out of their houses to buy lemonade. BYOC, when the cups ran out. All of the older siblings bought a cup or two. A few people walking their dogs stopped and bought a cup.
After sitting out there the entire afternoon they closed up shop. They had made $28. Divided by 7 children who were working the stand, they each left with $4. It probably works out to be less than 50 cents per hour for all of the time that they invested.
They could not be happier with their windfall.
I know exactly how they feel.
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Very lovely! In the past, when I taught microeconomics, I often started the section on firms by asking my students, “Who here has operated a lemonade stand as a kid?” I’m glad to see that the idea isn’t outdated.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:51 amHooray for childhood!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:56 amHi Chris,
June 29th, 2009 at 9:04 amMy family moved to Houston 5 years ago from the cold and snowy state of Maine. I resisted the move with everything I had but in the end, I believe I have found utopia (in a childhood sense). I have three kids and they are a small part of the 30 kids here in our two cul-de-sacs. From high schoolers to toddlers, these neighborhood kids are a big part of our family. I can’t think of a better life for my children - running around in the neighborhood, having popsicles 12 hours a day, chasing the ice cream truck, lemonade stands, sprinklers and pools, hanging out under the street lights until the parents are calling them from the front doors. Texas is a great place to raise my family. Welcome!
Awww - I love that story! Thanks for posting!
June 29th, 2009 at 9:14 amYowsa! Selling lemonade in the 104-degree heat! That’s dedication!
June 29th, 2009 at 9:24 amThat stand is sooooo cute.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:34 amI am glad to see it was only 104
and i am very impressed with the stand building, my kids use boxes
the kids must be loving the neighborhood as they would have not made that much at a stand at the old yellow home.
Great Post
June 29th, 2009 at 9:39 amTexas- it’s like a whole ‘nother country.
The friedly state.
And all that.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:44 am$28! Wow! And it’s good to see that lemonade has only gone up a bit in price since I was a kid.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:43 amIt’s so great that your kids have already bonded into the neighborhood. Sounds like you’ve found a GREAT place to live. Since there’s a couple more months of summer, are they going to have the stand open at a “regular” time each week?
June 29th, 2009 at 10:44 amIsn’t it nice to know that kids can still be kids in some places. I can’t wait for my daughter to have that.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:54 amOur neighborhood in Houston is like this too. Maybe it’s a Texas thing? Because it sure wasn’t anything like this in any neighborhood we lived in in Michigan!
My 14 year old, 11 year old and their 12 year old neighbor friend can frequently be found literally playing army men with the neighbors little plastic guys in our pool. They spend lots of time just hunting for snakes or crayfish (or whatever they are called in the south) or fishing. Recently a 17 yo and 16yo neighbor invited my boys over to play monopoly for an entire week straight. We have the lemonade stands too, around the corner. Sometimes they come to us on a wagon! Love that.
As much as I want to move, it makes me VERY hesitant to ever move my kids away from this. The likelihood that I’d find it again? Pretty much zero. Good to know, though, that this is literally not the only neighborhood like this in the world.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:20 amThat kind of heat makes a great day for lemonade sales! Beautiful sign . . . we didn’t have computers to make our signs when I was a kid! Great blog post, just reminds us all that we, too, were kids once. . . and probably most of us sold lemonade at one time in our lives. Your family has blended into the neighborhood so well, way to go!
June 29th, 2009 at 11:41 amThat’s awesome. I bet your kids are loving the new neighborhood, too. (That’s something I really wish my kids had, as well; we live out in ‘the boonies’ a ways, so unless we invite kids over for the day, mine are kind of on their own.) I had a childhood like your kids’, so I know how fun that can be. Lots of great memories, especially in summertime!
June 29th, 2009 at 12:03 pmI’m from Houston and am lucky enough to be raised in a wonderfully innocent neighborhood. My nephew and his friends now have their own Lemonade Stand and made a decent amount of money. I was quite impressed by their effort. I love Texas! Of course, I’m biased.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:16 pmyou have to love that…glad things are going so well.
June 29th, 2009 at 1:39 pmSo, have to ask… who made the lemonade?
June 29th, 2009 at 1:52 pmI remember my best friend and I doing that. Our stand was a card table and the lemonade was a quarter. I think we made a dollar. lol
Awesome! I like that it was 50 cents a cup. The other day I drove by a stand selling for $1 a cup. The fact that I wanted to pull over and complain about the price made me feel like an old lady.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:10 pmReminds me of my childhood! We used to have Koolaid stands here in Minnesota. I must have been a marketer in a previous life - I decided to sell extra salty popcorn along with the Koolaid - heh! One of our neighbors would always walk by, and buy a glass of Koolaid for each of the kids standing around us. I thought that was so great that now I make a point of doing that myself whenever I see a stand!
June 29th, 2009 at 2:15 pmIt’s not just Texas. Here in Pittsburgh, I just noticed a spiffy new stand on the corner. The boys next door will be jealous about the competition and have to spiff up their table, methinks. Though I don’t think they’ve ever gotten a haul that big before!
June 29th, 2009 at 2:15 pmWelcome to the South. That’s how I grew up and how my son is growing up. I can’t imagine it any other way.
June 29th, 2009 at 2:22 pmMy sister & I and the two girls next door to the house we used to rent in Maine for 2 weeks every summer had a little “store” every summer. It started with lemonade, and then grew to bracelets (out of that woven floss stuff) and painted shells and rocks. I think we actually made a killing those summers…at least enough to add to our extensive Barbie collection! And my parents’ friends who live down the road from there? Still has the large scallop shell which I painted & my dad drilled small holes in to be used as a soap dish. Ahhhh, carefree summer childhood memories…glad kids today are still getting to experience the simplicity of summer!
June 29th, 2009 at 3:02 pmI love the lemonade stand!
June 29th, 2009 at 3:05 pmWe used to have one every year when I was little. We usually drank up all our profits, though, because it was so hot. What a great memory for them.
When I moved back to Oregon, I bought a house in a neighborhood where I noticed all the kids outside playing together. They seem to travel in packs! Free range kids. Gotta love it.
June 29th, 2009 at 4:06 pmWhat a great neighborhood.
June 29th, 2009 at 4:35 pmYou could use it to teach them a lesson in Civics. Take 40% for federal and self-employment taxes. They escape state income tax being in Texas.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:11 pmAs someone who once sold lemonade as a kid, I can’t express strongly enough how awesome those neighbors are for buying a cup. It always meant so much to me when people actually spent some money to get a drink from me.
June 29th, 2009 at 6:51 pmI remember reading that one of Robert Fulghum’s (the All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in K guy) rules for life was to Never pass up a lemonade stand. I’ve adopted that as well, but I’m sorry I’m not in your neighborhood!
June 29th, 2009 at 7:36 pmCute! They made a LOT more money than I made selling lemonade when I was little. But I didn’t sell lemonade in 104* heat, either.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:15 pmOH jeebus, that just about made me cry.
Chris says: You should come for a visit!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:20 pmbut their smiles are priceless..
Chris says: Totally worth the $5 I spent on lemonade.
June 29th, 2009 at 8:30 pmWhat are their plans for “the windfall”?? I love to hear my kids plan, dream and budget with money they’ve earned!
June 29th, 2009 at 11:08 pmMy first instinct is probably candy or an extra ice cream from the ice cream shop. Or does your neighborhood have and Ice cream truck?? (that would be too perfect!:)
What a great thing to do on a HOT Texas day! They could have another stand sometime this summer and donate their proceeds. Check this out - http://www.alexslemonade.org/home
June 29th, 2009 at 11:32 pmJust a thought:)
If you don’t want to answer, I understand…
June 30th, 2009 at 1:52 amIs this move to Texas a permanent/long term one? Or will your husband need to go back to the East again? Just curious.
And another question, how’s the sale of your beautiful Connecticut home going?
You’re a great mom! My mom pooh-poohed the idea when I wanted to do it as a kid, because I’d never make back what the lemonade cost. She was probably right, especially in that neighborhood, but that’s not the point!
June 30th, 2009 at 5:49 amJust wait till Halloween. They will have the best night of their life.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:11 amChris -How cute. My daughter (age 5) had her first lemonade stand today. She made $11 (and plans to go back outside this afternoon too. Its so cute.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:16 pmOh, I always wanted to have a lemonade stand when I was a kid. My neighborhood was not the right neighborhood for something like that…. (houses were too far apart, no traffic). Super jealous. How cute.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:19 pmThat’s awesome.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:38 pmI always wanted to have a lemonade stall as a kid, but being on a farm means that you lack customers.
Isn’t hot weather fabulous???
It is so wonderful that you have found a community with great neighbors! That’s just the kind of thing I did as a kid, and with any luck (when they can count) my kids will do too!
June 30th, 2009 at 6:39 pmSounds like your kids are adjusting well to the move!
June 30th, 2009 at 7:42 pmIt’s my personal policy to always, ALWAYS buy lemonade from any kid with a lemonade stand (or kool aid, or whatever). I always tip, too. It’s just the right thing to do
June 30th, 2009 at 8:03 pm