We drove to resolve some errands last weekend. It’s hot here, summer as usual, and the neighborhood kids are restless. The entrepreneurial ones set up lemonade/iced tea stands in front of their houses and hawked us to buy a cup, to cool off.

We meet them halfway: we drive up to the stand at the curb, and hand them a fistful of change equal to a dollar, but tell them no lemonade is needed.

Not what they expected but they appreciate the gesture. The parents do too.

The moral of the story, not that we are so noble or angelic, is that the kids need to know their efforts are appreciated, even if not sipped.

Yes we know who made the lemonade and poured it into the oversized pitcher and brought it out to the curb, and it’s not the kids.

But the smiles! Some toothless.

One boy came up to my window and said, “I always wanted to look inside a car like this.” He was happy and his curiosity sated.

So I say change up the routine and offer a new way to accomplish the intended goal. You as the giver will feel rewarded and so will the receiver.

It’s better to give than receive.