The Future(?) Saleswoman

Many of you are aware that I have an eight-year old daughter named Megan. (If you’re not sure, then you didn’t know – no one who’s met Megan forgets her). Megan has one of those bright, loud personalities that baffles her somewhat introverted parents. At restaurants, it’s not unusual for Megan to turn to the people in the next booth and announce, “HI. I’m Megan, this is my dad and this is my mom.” She’s done this since she learned to talk. (Typically, my husband, Tom, and I turn red in the face, nod, then hiss, “Megan, sit down.”). Even before she learned to talk, Megan once insisted a fellow patient at the medical clinic pay his attention to her rather than to the friend with whom he had been chatting. In addition to loving attention, Megan, like many children, loves money. So really, it was only a matter of time before she hatched the idea to set up a lemonade stand. What could be more fitting for a talkative, money-seeking girl? Tom and I decided to make the most of this and turn the idea into an economics lesson (we are, after all parents, and it’s our job to make fun things a little more mundane and practical). We explained to Megan that she needed to spend her allowance to buy the necessary materials for a lemonade stand. If she spent $10 on materials, she would need to sell $10 worth of lemonade to earn her money back. Anything beyond that would be profit. We made a trip to the grocery store, and the debate over what to buy began. Real lemons? This was quickly dismissed since we don’t own a juicer. Powder? Frozen? Pink? Yellow? Raspberry? We compared unit prices on plastic cups. We hemmed and hawed over ice bags – 5 pounds or 20? At one point, Megan stopped me in the aisle and said, “Wait. What if I don’t sell enough to earn back what I spent?” Welcome to business, honey. Anyone who ventured down 3rd Street in Park Rapids on the afternoon of June 21st likely heard a girl calling, “LEMONADE! ONE DOLLAR PER GLASS!” (If a person happened by at the right moment, s/he could have heard/seen Megan look her grandmother in the eye and declare, “Some people have tipped me.”). Determined to maximize her profit, Megan refused to vacate her stand until she had sold 50 glasses of lemonade (she had bought 50 plastic cups). When she got down to 3 cups, Tom was sorely tempted to buy them up, but he resisted the urge. To be honest, Megan and I butt heads a lot. (I say this is Megan’s fault, and when I do, Tom gives me the look). There was no butting heads yesterday. How could there be? My baby put her best skills to the test and came out a winner. Now if I could get her to sell fifty books in four hours…plus tips…hmm…