After I came into the neighborhood yesterday afternoon and stopped at that NEW stop sign, I saw two little girls all bundled up standing at the curb behind a portable table with a sign advertising HOT CHOCOLATE.
It's been kind of a funny winter. First NO snow at all until New Year's Eve Day, then several storms over the last couple of months that dumped so much snow much of it is still on the ground, even some roads are still snow-covered. More like where I grew up in Wyoming.
Usually, we have winter seasons that are pretty navigable. I walk outside every day and have some years ridden my bike almost every day in the winter, too. But not this year. Because of some really cold temperatures hovering at zero and below with the high for the day only in the teens for several days, the snow never melted like it usually does. Most days have been colder than usual.
Yesterday was no exception....it was five degrees when I stopped at the mailbox. I glanced over at the mini concession stand. There were no customers. That was surprising because there was a steady stream of cars coming into Carlson Farm neighborhood which had to stop at that new stop sign just a few feet from the beverage stand. I parked my car and walked over to order a cup of hot chocolate.
I always stop at neighborhood refreshment stands and purchase whatever is being sold as a way to support the efforts of these young entrepreneurs. For several summers, I helped my own little boys sponsor an annual event we called "The Nichols Brothers Five-cent Sale". It was an opportunity for them to earn a little cash to do something fun for which there was no money in an already tight family budget. But we never tried hot chocolate in the winter. That took some guts to get out on a cold day like yesterday and offer warm refreshment.
The cost: $2.00/cup. I noticed the one little girl was very careful when she turned the spigot and held the cup under it. After all she was wearing her mittens! Though my styrofoam cup was barely half full (and for me it's always "hold the marshmallows!"), I handed over my two $1.00 bills and thanked them profusely for being so thoughtful on such a wintery day. At once their pink faces were wreathed in big smiles. With my own mittened fingers, I carefully carried my cup over to the car and got in thinking I would drink it at home where I could successfully handle putting the cup to my lips. As I drove away, I glanced up to see the little girls both waving an enthusiastic goodbye.
I don't know how long those cute "bundles" remained at their station. Maybe they had already sold most of their product before I came along, and there wasn't much left. But when I got home, I got my Valentine mug out of the cupboard and poured the half cup from the refreshment stand into it. Then I added another envelope of hot chocolate mix and some boiling hot water to make a really tasty drink.
Thanks to a couple of bold little girls, I enjoyed a fun mid-afternoon treat I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't seen them bravely selling a hot commodity on a cold day.
It didn't seem quite so cold outside after that!
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