One Quarter

A couple weeks ago, I was on my way home from a terrible day at work...I was tired, angry, hungry and thirsty. As I turned down a street one block away from my home, I came up to two little girls sitting behind a little table with a bright yellow banner that read "Lemonade 25 Cents". I smiled and remembered the hot days of summer when I would go out and sell lemonade to the workers on my street. Those were good times.

As I slowly passed the table, I could see the disappointment in their faces as I was just another guy driving by who didn't want their little paper cup of lemonade. So I turned down my music, stopped the car and made what was the best decision I had made in weeks. I turned around...

Both girls jumped off their chairs with excitement beaming from their faces. One of the girls leaned up on my car and held up her index finger and said "One glass is 25 cents" to which I handed her a quarter that had been rolling around in my cup holder. The other girl slowly poured out the lemonade that she took such pride in and slowly walked it up to my open window.

There they both stood with eager eyes waiting for me to take the first sip...so I did. It was cold, refreshing and soothing. I looked over at the two girls smiling from ear to ear at the guy who came back, and told them it was delicious and hit the spot.

I slowly made my way home and actually got a little choked up...how could one quarter make two little girls so happy? And why did the lemonade I bought from them taste better than any lemonade I had ever had?

As I pulled into the driveway and waited for the garage to open, I made a pledge to myself that no matter where I was, what I was doing, no matter how hurried I was...I promised that I would stop at every lemonade stand I passed from that day forward...and I gotta tell ya the smiles get bigger, the lemonade tastes better, and the quarter that you spend just made someone's day a little bit better. Who knows, it might have even been your own.