(Excerpt from Chapter 28 of “Clarity Cookies: 52 Bite-Size Discoveries for the Ravenous Soul: Creating Moments”)
There’s a kind of magic in ordinary Saturdays—when the sun is shining just right, kids are sticky with excitement, and the scent of something sweet drifts in the air. One summer, I got to bottle up that kind of magic—literally—with a lemonade stand, three kids, and one very sunny California day.
It started as a promise. My sister and her family were moving, and while she packed up boxes and memories, my parents and I took in her kids for the weekend. I’d told Maddie (9), Ray (7), and Gavin (3) that we’d run a lemonade stand that summer—and this was our chance.
The night before, we turned the kitchen into a little workshop: flour on cheeks, laughter echoing off the walls, and a countertop full of cooling cookies made from an old family recipe. We set up signs we’d crafted the week before—complete with glitter glue, crooked letters, and way too many smiley faces—and we dusted off the lemonade stand booth, a birthday gift from their cousin Savannah.
By morning, the kids were ready. Maddie tied her curls back with a bandana like a little boss, Ray took charge of the cookie arrangement (a very serious role), and Gavin, the youngest, squeezed lemons with a determination that made my heart melt. The drink dispenser we picked up from Bed Bath & Beyond sat proudly on the table I borrowed from my office—this was serious business.
By noon, our street had transformed. What was once a quiet suburban sidewalk was now our version of a county fair, full of color, cheer, and the occasional “Two lemonades, please!” I called local family and friends to stop by, and as they trickled in, Maddie turned to me and asked, all businesslike, “When’s our next invited guest arriving?”
The sun was hot. The tips were generous. And somewhere between a giggling sign-flip (Maddie tried to twirl it like a professional but ended up making us laugh ’til we cried) and a kind stranger dropping off what looked like her babysitting money with a quiet smile, I realized something: we weren’t just selling lemonade. We were making memories.
We ended the day $73.25 richer, sun-kissed, exhausted—and glowing. Not because of the cash, but because of the joy. The kind you don’t plan for, but feel in your bones. The kind you’ll talk about for years, especially when the kids are grown and the lemonade stand is long gone.
That’s what creating moments is about.
Yes, it can take planning. Yes, it might require a little extra effort. But the best ones? They sneak up on you. They’re wrapped in laughter, sticky fingers, and spontaneous dance moves in the driveway. They live in between the “to-do lists” and linger long after the day ends.
Like when I surprised my dad and nephew Ray with a shared Father’s Day–birthday celebration. I gave them both gifts—a cape for Ray’s 8th birthday (because every 8-year-old should feel like a superhero), and a scrapbook for my dad filled with cycling photos from his younger days. We ate cake and decorated samsegs, turning them into edible portraits using vegetables and little touches of creativity. The kids made olives and peppers into smiles and mustaches, and we snapped so many photos I still flip through on rainy days. One of my favorites is of the kids proudly presenting their “portraits” to their dad. My dad passed away not long after, but I like to believe that day stayed with him.
As my niece and nephews started to grow up and I watched them graduate high school, I thought, perhaps, our days of creating special moments would be lost forever. After all, they would soon have higher education, jobs, and marriage & family on their minds. However, I learned that special moments can be found anytime, if you look for opportunities. My nephew and I, for example, have been hard at work, trying to get him on The Price is Right game show. What we’ll do is go out to breakfast or lunch, watch the show on one of our phones, then we go out to the supermarket, car dealer, Target or anywhere that sells stuff and we’ll research the prices of things. It’s our fun way of spending time together. We’ve even thought of a fun logo for the t-shirt we’ll wear to the show and have gone miniature golfing to prepare for a game called “Hole in One.” It’s difficult to find time in our busy schedules, but we are doing it.
And that’s the thing. Time is fragile. Precious. Sometimes painful.
But if we’re intentional… if we dare to make ordinary days feel like something worth framing… we create little treasures we’ll hold onto forever.
🍋 Action Nibbles: Create a Moment That Matters
📅 Pick a day. Plan something simple but full of heart—a lemonade stand, a surprise date, or even a picnic on your living room floor.
✨ Make it special. Bake cookies. Write silly signs. Add a twist. Make the ordinary sparkle.
📸 Capture it. Snap photos, but also take a mental snapshot. Pause, breathe, soak it in.
🎉 Repeat. These don’t have to be rare. You can create magic more often than you think.
This story is just a sip from the full chapter, “Creating Moments” from Clarity Cookies: 52 Bite-Size Discoveries for the Ravenous Soul—a book filled with bite-size lessons to feed the soul and inspire your heart.
🍪✨ Be on the lookout for the official Clarity Cookies book launch—you won’t want to miss it!
➡️ For sneak peeks, updates, and even more inspiration, visit my website at https://phoenixjourney.com/
💛 And let’s stay connected on Facebook at Phoenix Coaching – where we celebrate life’s little victories and turn ashes into beauty.
Tell me, love—what kind of moment are you going to create next?
Drop it in the comments. I’d love to hear about the magic you’re brewing. 🍋💫
Clarity Cookies 
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