Mrs. J. and the Lemonade

Yesterday evening, before Mark go home, our neighbor, Mrs. J., came over for a minute to return some space heaters we had lent her when her heater went on the fritz.  Well, the visit wasn’t entirely spontaneous; Kayla had seen her otuside on her front yard with her new puppy and had begged me for permission to go down to say hello, so I let her go.  Mrs. J. is a favorite of ours, with her sweet, kind nature and we all love to visit with her.  Kayla came back to the house with one of the heaters, and with Mrs. J holding the other, so I invited her into the house and we visited for a little while.  Kayla, apparently having learned from watching Mark and me, understood that the first rule of hospitality was to offer someone something to drink, so she asked Mrs. J if she wanted anything, and Mrs. J said, “No, thank you.”  Kayla decided that that was not good enough, so she entered teh kitchen, and after various noises had floated forth from the kitchen, Kayla emerged with a glass of pink lemonade, complete with straw in place, for Mrs. J.  Being the sweet woman that she is, Mrs. J. had no other choice then to accept it from Kayla.

Knowing that there had been no pink lemonade “ready-made” in the house, I gently asked Kayla about the pink lemonade’s sudden appearance.  She told me cheerfully that she had opened the pink lemonade koolaid packet, poured the whole (2 quart packet) into the (12 oz.) glass, added water and ice and stirred.  I asked her if she had added sugar to the mix, and just as Mrs. J. took the first sip, both she and Kayla answered “No” at the same time. 

I told Kayla it was a nice idea, but asked why she hadn’t used the lemonade that was already made up in the refrigerator.  She told me she couldn’t find it.  I couldn’t help it; I asked her “You mean you missed that big pitcher sitting there beside the milk?”  There was silence for just a second, and then she she said shortly, “Oh.”  Resilient as ever, she re-entered the kitchen, and re-emerged quickly with three fresh glasses of the already made-up yellow lemonade, again with straws in place, showing that her heart was in the right place, she just needed a little help with execution!