Saturday, June 18, 2011

Lemonade Stand



I was in my old neighborhood the other day and drove down the street I lived on from ages 2 until 23. My mom lived there until she passed away 4 years ago. What a pleasant surprise to see a group of exuberant kids at the bottom of the driveway of the house I knew most of my life.

"LEMONADE!!! Pleeeeeease stop!" they shouted at me as I slowed down and grinned at them. I pulled over and asked, "Do you live here? This is my old house. I grew up here!" The 10-year-old girl who matched the dad and little brother up near the house looked at me in surprise.

I chose lemonade from their poster board menu. "Give her a crazy straw!" they all shouted to the concessionaire. I paid and was handed a purple cup of fresh-squeezed lemonade (complete with floating lemon seeds) and a blue swirly straw that was way too big for the cup.

"Have a nice day!" they shouted as I pulled away from the curb.

I sipped the lemonade as I drove back home, and a tear came to my eye. How many lemonade stands did we have throughout the years in that very same spot? We never could imagine any other family but ours living at 680 Hazelvalley. Now a new family with new kids has taken our place. What a refreshing feeling to "meet" the new tenants and see that they are continuing the tradition in the house that built me.


P.S. That was the best lemonade ever. :o)

8 comments:

Rhona said...

Ah, that's really sweet. I often wonder who lives in the houses I grew up in because I have so many memories from them. I think it's great you got to meet the new people in your old house (and that the lemonade stand tradition continues :) ) xx

CarolineZ said...

Hi! A new post. Love this little story and your observations about the old and the new family. Hope you'll be posting more!
Caroline

Laruchka said...

Hi, I was just flicking through blogs and yours caught my eye. It's really nice and personal. Compliments from Italy! Oh and I saw you do some ESL, so we have that in common :)

sugarnspices said...

Your article did send a tear to my eye ;)

Isn't it nice to go back to where we once started and to realize that things do never change and if they do it's all for ANYONE'S GOOD.

God bless!

Sandra Wilkes said...

I totally relate. We all have so many memories. It's nice to revisit the good ones. It's all good.Thx.
Sandra

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MCYC Sunday School Admin said...

I was just going from blog to blog and I found your lemonade post interesting. I think it's great to go back to your old neighborhood and let memories come back to you. I bet it was a wonderful experience to know that some great children are now taking care of the house you once grew up in and it's still a happy place. zenpluszen.blogspot.com