One of the nice things about being an adult is that every so often you can do something that to you is trivial, but to a kid is nothing short of amazing. I got to do that today.
I have a habit that when I see kids selling lemonade during the summer, I always stop if at all possible and buy something. Usually, the lemonade is fairly poor stuff, but thats not the point. I want the kid to get positive feedback, not to mention money, for their efforts. One kid, I recall, was a real salesman; after his sister had sold me the ade, he stepped up and said 'And the cookies are good, too!' So I bought one of them to go. Wasn't bad.
Today I was driving through the small town near which I live, and I saw a girl sitting at table next to a somewhat busy street. There was the classic hand-lettered LEMONADE sign, so I stopped. "Lemonade, huh?" I said as I walked up. "Yep", she said. "Made it myself." "Well, I'll take one", I told her, and as she was pouring I saw that there was an empty TIPS jar. She gave me the cup. "How much?" I asked, holding out a dollar. "Twenty-five cents", she replied, with a doubtful look at the dollar bill. This kid doesn't have any change, I thought. I might be the very first sale. "Tell you what", I said to her. "You take this... and keep the rest as a tip."
She lit RIGHT up. "Thanks!" she exclaimed.
Its a nice feeling.
4 comments:
I do the same exact thing! I always stop for lemonade stands. Me and my friends had many lemonade stands when we were little and I can remember the excitement of the sale. I usually end up just giving them a whole dollar no matter what they are charging. Somehow a dollar is worth a lot more when you are little.
Its kind of a funny thing. I don't think I'd routinely do it, because it feels like I'm not taking the kid seriously. "Oh, look, how cute, heres a buck." But obviously I can be persuaded -- all it took was thinking of this kid out there trying, and having nothing (so far as I knew) to show for it...that smile didn't hurt, either -- so maybe I ought to give your approach a try. Thanks for the idea.
How sweet!
Yes, she was... that smile was a killer. (g)
Seriously, its not a big deal. I wish I knew how to do that kind of thing more often.
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