All I've been wanting is a lemonade stand. I've been working diligently, my mind filled with lemons and sugar and stirring. Dreaming up new fruit combinations to make the most refreshing and delicious of summer drinks. However, much to my dismay, I find myself roadblocked by the rules. It would seem that having a lemonade stand is no longer as simple as it was when I was a little girl. 

Growing up in a quiet, residential neighborhood, my brothers and I had our fair share of lemonade opportunities. One stand that immediately comes to mind was when I was probably six or seven and my younger brother and I set up shop in front of our house. My mom made us a sign with beautiful handwriting, advertising Lemonde 10¢. We did not immediately catch her mistake, trying to sell The World (in French!) for a paltry dime. It was unmistakable, the excitement at the prospect of selling something home-made and finding appreciative customers. (Also making our big dollars of course!) Another time, my best friend and I decided to put a new spin on our stand and decided to sell all things raspberry. Jars of fresh berries and an assortment of raspberry candies were carefully arranged on our small table. It might not have been our most successful sale, but here I am, twenty years later with plans of tables filled with sweets and fruit. 

But no lemonade. Not yet. 

It would seem that where lemons and juices are concerned, things are a little stickier. Understandably there are food safe concerns whenever something is being made and sold, but there seem to be extra stiff lemonade limitations. My home is safe for the making of pies, cakes, jams, and jellies. Lemonade requires the use of a commercial grade kitchen for the juicing and mixing for it to be considered safe. And they don't come easy! In planning for our pie workshop, it took me almost three weeks to track down a kitchen that would allow us to bake for free. However, I have made a firm commitment to making lemonade out of these lemons, and finding a way to have my stand. 

Until then, I will continue to dream of exotic fruit mixtures and the satisfaction of squishing a lemon into smithereens. I will dream of my perfect stand, attracting customers like swarms of bees to the hive. I will have to start small, but maybe, one day, I'll take on Le Monde. 

The Dream