I was on my way out of the house yesterday morning, heading for a meeting. The neighborhood was very quiet -- no motion, no voices, not even a breeze. As I put things into my car, though, a little boy approached and started talking. He was probably around three or four years old. It took a few tries to understand him, but we were both persistent and eventually I discovered that he had a small table set up in front of his nearby house to sell lemonade for twenty-five cents. He was asking if I'd like some.
Well, no, not really. It was kind of early in the day for lemonade, not yet hot enough to make it really refreshing. I wasn't thirsty. I wasn't craving lemonade. I had somewhere to go. And I had just brushed my teeth.
But sometimes those things don't matter so much.
I engaged the child in conversation, learning his name and finding out (to my relief) that he was not entirely alone -- his brother was across the street by their house. I asked the young one to retrieve a lemonade for me while I dug around looking for a quarter.
A cup of lemonade was not worth twenty-five cents to me on that morning. But this little boy? He brought his whole little self over to where I was and engaged in conversation. He was intentional, purposeful, friendly. He took appropriate risks. When his sales plans weren't working out very well, he adapted. A simple conversation with him was a lovely start to my day. I am glad he lives in my neighborhood. With all of that, it was worth every penny.
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