On Thursday of last week, son Chad and I decided to finally have the Garage Sale that we've been meaning to do for a year or so.  Husband Todd was working long hours for the next four days so he couldn't help but Chad proved to be a great worker, at least on Friday, the first day of the sale.  I asked my boys if they knew what to say when someone asked the inevitable question "Why aren't you in school today?" (as if they have the right to ask that!!)  I told them to say they are homeschooled and they are learning retail today!  (And this situation actually happened about 1 hour later!)  Chad spent time organizing, pricing (pardon me while I take a quick Dove dark chocolate break here .... o.k., I'm set) arranging things and talking with customers.  We discussed how to make people feel welcome without overwhelming them or making them feel pressured to buy.  He made change and carried out big items to peoples' cars when needed.  We got this set up so fast it was amazing.  Friday was a beautiful day but Saturday rained us out so we didn't open again until Sunday, which is the kiss of death to a sale if you ask me.  We only got a few customers on Sunday and Chad was disappointed but that was a lesson as well.  All in all, I think we did well.  I was really proud of Chad, he has trouble sticking with tasks unless it's a project he's really interested in.  Then he really gets into it, like this weekend.  I paid him 5% of our earnings per day - a surprise to him, he didn't even think about getting paid!  Son Alec overpriced the items he put out to sell but he did sell the first toy on Friday.  We had discussed the value of items and how much to price them but he just wanted to make some $$$ (he is 8, you know!)  He didn't care that he only sold 1 item - he just brought all his stuff back in!  We had put out a coffee table that my husband built about 20 years ago (he was a cabinet builder before he became a nurse) and a homeschool mom bought it.  Cool!  She was very nice and we had a good chat.  Best kind of sale!  I think the children learned a lot this weekend and we are $64 richer.  Needed all day Monday to recover but, that's o.k!