when life gives you lemons

One of my favorite memories growing up was our annual family trip to Kennebunkport, Maine to visit my fabulous grandparents: Nana & Pops.  

their little antique shop

next door to their Maine cottage

One trip, we arrived and were told they had a little something waiting for us in the basement.  Delighted, the three of us followed them through the dark door into their musty cellar.  The gift’s beautiful fresh yellow coat of paint practically glowed in the dark: an old-fashioned, wooden, hand-painted lemonade stand!  We squealed at the sight of it.  Within minutes, we had it up and out in front of the house (prime location for lemonade selling – minutes away from the center of town) ready to open shop for customers.

 

The lemonade stand ended up being the most fun activity of the entire trip (and every trip after that for that matter).  Each morning, Sam, Gretch, and I would dress up in our cute little outfits, prep our goods for the day, and get to work selling our “freshly squeezed” lemonade, “home-baked” chocolate cookies, and our adorable smiles. 

 

Nanny and Poppy monitored our work offering a kind bit of advice here and there, but they mostly let us run the show.  Pops has this incredible way of never needing to be at the center of it, but always being a part of it – listening, observing, absorbing, and then – all of the sudden – adding some incredibly witty or wise tid-bit. 

 

 

 

It’s something I’ve always been so in awe of – especially since I’m one of those need-to-be-the-center-of-everything type of people.  I’ve always so loved and appreciated how Pops is always fine not being the center, but is such a rock in all of our lives – being there for all of us with a smile and joke (and boy are his jokes good, let me know tell YOU) right when we need him.

Anyway, back to the lemonade stand and how it changed my life.  I’d always been a curious (and motivated, I like to think) kid, but the lemonade stand and what it created for us kids really sparked my love of business and creation – running a business, brainstorming ideas to optimize that business, managing that business, and - of course - collecting profits from that business.  And we raked in 1000s upon 1000s of dollars.  No joke.  Unlike most kids who spent their summers lounging by the pool or playing tennis or goofing off with their friends, Sam, Gretch and I literally ran our own business – thanks to Nana and Pops’ incredibly insightful gift.  

 

For our wedding, we wanted to honor all the lessons, memories and laughs shared during this cherished childhood pastime by having my little cousins "sell" lemonade to our guests pre-ceremony.

 

So for our Fourth of July celebration, Stefan and I (well, mainly Stefan) went about building a replica of the original lemonade stand that has since been put to rest. 

 

a nice little trip to the home depot

 

On a trip up to visit Nana and Pops in Maine earlier this year, my parents even tracked down the original sign which we worked into our construction.  We had a romantic evening of sawing, sanding, and drilling in our oh-so-lovely garage.

 

And I have to say, I think it turned out pretty well.

 

 

If I could get away with selling lemonade at age 26, I’d totally do it, but somehow I don’t think people will be quite as inclined to buy from me as they were when I was 8.  But who knows.

 

xoxo

KK

PS. We're still waiting on pictures from our fabulous photographer, so I don't have any of the kids behind the lemonade stand in action, so if you happened to snap some, please send them my way!