Sunday, August 25, 2013

Roadside Stands

What is is about roadside stands? They just call out for you to stop and buy their wares!  Whether it's lemonade stands, with the little kids running their first business, or produce stands, egg signs that beckon you to stop at the little hut, put some money in the box, and get yourself a dozen eggs, or hot dog stands on the street corner in the city, there is just something special about these real experiences, in not-exactly-brick-and-mortar stands.
I'm a HUGE believer in children's lemonade stands. I've heard that it is actually not legal to have an unlicensed lemonade stand. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, I'm against it. I think every kid should have at least one lemonade stand in their lifetime.
When my sister and I were little, we painted rocks into bugs and sold them to the neighborhood.  We also took styrofoam balls cut in half, and used pipe cleaners to make animals and sold them.  We've thought how funny it would be to go to a garage sale in our area and find one of our old creations, but, I'm not holding out for the possibility, b/c, after all, I was only like 6 at the time, and the quality wouldn't have stood the test of an heirloom. :-)
I live in a very small community. I lived in the same house all my life, until I was grown. I only live a half mile away from that same home.  Well, if you know me, you know I love my life!
Today, I had a huge blessing, to go down the street that half mile again, to my childhood home, and stop at my friend's roadside stand there and buy this beautiful bouquet, all for a whole $2! You wouldn't believe what a very real memory-lane moment this was to me.  To pull into the driveway of my own childhood home, and get flowers grown on that soil, that my mom used to grown flowers on! She spent so much time in her gardens, and you know, to this day, she is always outside in her flowers or riding her lawn mower over her huge yard.  When I would get home off the school bus, she'd be out there working in her flowers in the fall and spring. In the fall, there is a certain type of day, the sun feels just right, the blackberry smell is in the air, the breeze is just that exact same breeze as my childhood, and I get this memory come over me of getting off that bus, mom pausing from her weeding to ask us how school went. It just all comes back to me all over again. I was so fortunate to have such a great childhood. I don't take it for granted. I try to live up to it for my own kids.
So, if you think your life gets monotonous, don't forget, you're making memories. Hopefully awesome memories of sunshiny days, cheerful words, beautiful flowers. Happy children.