My daughter loves lemonade stands. To quote her sign: “I want to earn money for a gerbil and my brother wants a fish.” The other sign listed prices, snacks, ice or no ice options. A dedicated trooper, she sat outside in the hot sun for almost 8 hours...and earned a whopping $31. This is big money for a 7 and 3 year old.
Once inside we did all the typical lessons. Counting quarters and discussing fourths; adding up the dollars and practicing math;
cleaning up the remaining supplies.
Then the lesson switched to those harder, hypothetical conversations. Mommy bought the lemonade so let's repay her for supplies. Don’t forget about tax and charity. (I really could have talked about space rental, the poster board for advertising, or even a cleaning fee for the duct tape glue that stuck to the table...but I’m not a maniac.)
Grown up lessons came next, my mind churning at all the advantages she had been given.
**Our awesome neighbors advertised their garage sale, and I’m pretty sure gave a few deals if the buyer promised to buy lemonade from the kids across the street. They also taught bartering; my kids gladly traded lemonade for a new item or two.
** Mommy did buy the supplies and didn’t charge for them, explained how to run the stand, discussed how to talk to people, gave advice on where to put the posters, and reminded them of their long term gerbil and fish goals when tired.
**Multiple people, including many strangers, were generally kind and supportive.
I didn’t academically categorize it as privilege, a word that has surprisingly become volatile instead of descriptive. We discussed gratitude and work ethic. But in truth she had a distinct advantage. Without those advantages, she would have maybe earned a couple of dollars.
And this is why generational stories matter. Why family and community matter. Why laws and periods of time that held different individuals back or purposefully persecuted groups had such impact. Why spiritual heritage, beliefs, and overall micro and macro systems matter. Pick any topic, system, or even hobby, and some are learning how to do lemonade at age 7. Others aren’t allowed to sell lemonade, discouraged from lemonade, don’t know how to do it or have the resources to start, and some may not even know lemonade exists.
It’s also why mentorship matters. I watched a group of adults and perfect strangers choose to intentionality pour into my young kids. They chose to lean in with kindness and without judgement or standards of perfection.
So that’s my challenge to myself. Hopefully to others. Lean in. There is needed room for academic discussions. Needed space for discourse and emotions and storytelling and diverse perspectives. There is also a great need for mentors to simply lean in, trust, teach, lead, and support.
Lemonade stand gurus -- please pass it on. Intentionally lean in.
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