Chloe had already asked many times. “I want to set up a lemonade stand so I can earn enough money to buy my own camera.” And I had told her she could set up a lemonade stand on a day when she and her brother both had morning soccer games which was about half of the Saturdays this past soccer season.
The day Chloe got my nod, it was over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit by 11:00 AM when we went to buy ice, cups, lemonade and bottled water for Chloe’s lemonade stand. Chloe had a small table and small chairs that would fit in the back of the car. A table cloth and a print-out of prices completed her business kiosk. She had plenty of money for inventory from her allowance. We promised to buy back from her any full half-gallons of lemonade and any un-purchased water bottles. That made her only fixed cost the ice and cups.
We returned home with Chloe’s inventory by 11:30 AM. We put the ice into the freezer and then I looked up the day’s soccer schedules online. The perfect soccer game was just six miles away at 1:00 PM. Why was it perfect? Philip had just begun eighth grade. His gal-peers Jocelyn and Charlotte had moved on to Hermes High School, so he hadn’t seen them since the end of the previous school year. But both gal-peers were playing on the town’s U15 Girls Division III soccer team. And their game started today at 1:00 PM, just six miles away.
I had no trouble convincing Philip to join us to help Chloe run her lemonade stand. We arrived comfortably before the game, but not early enough to secure any meaningful business from the players and observers of the previous game. Chloe carried the cups, ice and table cloth and then guarded her stash. Philip and I brought everything else—table, chair and inventory—in two trips to her place of business right next to the bleachers.
Philip stood leaning forward against a fence about ten feet from Chloe watching the game observing how the girls’ teams played differently from the boys’ teams. I walked over to the bleachers and sat next to Jocelyn’s mother.
At half time, Chloe’s business began to show a profit. And the observers took quiet note of the fact that there were discounted refill prices and that soccer players could get lemonade for refill prices if they autographed her soccer jersey. After half-time, Philip and I returned to our locations of preference and enjoyed watching the game. Fortunately, though close, the Hermes team was winning.
As the game came to an end, we realized there were no other teams waiting and so Chloe’s business would need to shut down. Philip and I were able to take the remaining inventory in one trip. On the way back, Charlotte and her family were exiting the field area just as we were returning. Philip slowed down, made eye contact, waved and said “Hi Charlotte.”
Charlotte never slowed her pace. She let out a barely audible “hi,” barely met his gaze and then put her head down as she passed us with her caravan of family and one friend.
Jocelyn proved to be the polar opposite. As we approached Chloe’s kiosk, Jocelyn was standing in front purchasing the largest sized cup and waving friends over to do likewise. She had the marker in her hand and was proudly signing Chloe’s jersey with her name, team name, her jersey number, and the words “You Rock,” complete with a smiley face. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d timed it so she would be looking up and stepping away from the kiosk just as Philip walked up. Philip approached cautiously expecting an equally awkward reception, but his expectations were wrong.
“Hi Philip! What are you doing here? Is this your sister?”
“Hi Jocelyn. Yes. This is my sister Chloe. You were awesome out there.”
“Thank you! And what an awesome idea this lemonade stand is. You’re so nice to be helping your sister earn money for her camera.”
Jocelyn’s teammate chimed in after completing her jersey signature. “This is such a great idea! I wish I had done this when I was younger.”
Philip and Jocelyn continued chatting moving away from Chloe’s kiosk toward the bleachers as a line of people wanting lemonade blocked me from hearing clearly whatever else Jocelyn and Philip were saying to one another. So I stayed near the kiosk, keeping watch to ensure Chloe had no difficulty providing correct change to families buying more than one cup of lemonade.
But what occupied my mind were Jocelyn’s emotional maturity and her social confidence in particular. Admittedly, Jocelyn had not turned down an invitation from Philip to join him for a formal dance as Charlotte had.* But Jocelyn had already demonstrated her depth on the ball-field. While athletically equal or perhaps even below what was average on her team, Jocelyn proved to be a top player because of her boldness. It was a boldness Philip as a soccer player and I as a soccer coach could immediately recognize. Jocelyn carried that boldness off the field as confidently as she did on the field. I couldn’t imagine her lowering her head in response to a greeting from a guy-peer, especially one who was still in Middle School. I was pleased to see how comfortable Philip was speaking with her. And I was pleased Chloe got to interact with her as well, because that is just how I would like Chloe to be when she reaches Jocelyn’s age.
And so the lemonade stand was a success. Chloe earned $9.75. Philip got to see Charlotte and Jocelyn. And I managed to get both my kids to interact with and observe a socially confident teenager. I guess I could say we killed multiple birds with one lemonade stand.
* That story appears in The Most Awkward Teen Interaction.
No comments:
Post a Comment