And as I waited and listened, I sang all the words in my head. I knew all the words.
As you know, I am lyrics impaired.
But this time, this song from the 40's, I knew all the words.
I wanted to say...I know all these words.
But I knew it would prove to Bethany and Alan that I am really really ancient.
Fool's Rush In is really even too old for me to know but my parents loved Frank Sinatra and we listened to him all the time. (other favorites were Montivani and Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass)
To this day, I do not think any male singer has taken his place as the most beautiful voice.
He is perfection to me.
****
Last night Katie and I spent a few hours working on balancing chemical equations.
She is not ready for this kind of 'math'. But being in a school...she has to be ready.
Do you want to know when I took Chemistry? Not until senior year at college.
It was know as "baby chem" and I waited until the very last opportunity to take it.
I did very well and I even remember enjoying the class.
My brain was ready to learn by the time I was 20.
I am a late bloomer.
Little Katie trying to do this at 13...let me just say...it's just too hard for her.
But the best thing about Katie is she tries real hard.
She has not given up and this late bloomer knows that my little late bloomer will be okay just as long as she keeps swimming.
We need one that says....balancing chemical equations.
*****
Living in the land of greys and taupe....pictures like this really brighten my spirits.
Did I tell you?
I think the ladies going to premieres should bring flowers...like a bride....
Isn't that a good idea??
Enjoy your Friday, friends!
Encourage one another,
Donna
I was at Starbucks yesterday, and they were playing Frank Sinatra too! I believe it was Night and Day.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me smile that we are many many miles apart, yet our habits, our patterns take us to similar places -- even hearing matching music!
I love these colorful pins - another reason to smile.
Hi Donna, I am surprised that the school is having her balance equations in 7th grade. Andrew is doing that in Chemistry in 10th grade - the curriculum is very clear that you should Algebra I under your belt before taking Chem. So sorry for Katie, but you are a good mom for helping her.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amy. They are academically eager at BS.
DeleteI love Frank! I was really good at algebra in high school but barely scraped by stats during my graduate studies program. I think they just let me pass to get rid of me. I was hopeless. I love the colour photographs. I received flowers yesterday from friends and they cheered me up considerably since we still have 3 ft of snow in our yard!
ReplyDeleteAnd I need to buy that tee-shirt for my son. I think he spent his entire high school years asking each teacher - When will I need to know this?
Have a good weekend.
I've found you again! Hurray! blessings to you,Donna
ReplyDeleteOh, gracious. If I ever got married again (to the same darling man, of course), I would HAVE to have that bouquet! Gorgeous!! As for chemistry...I took it (as a 10th grader), I passed it, I've never ever even thought about it again. How frustrating! Good luck to her. Sounds like she's a trooper.
ReplyDeleteThose flowers. :) I think everyone should carry flowers all the time. teehee I love flowers so much. They really cheer me up. I really enjoyed taking some to Lauren's teacher on Wednesday as a special treat.
ReplyDeleteLove the colorful pictures.
I showed Brennan the algebra t-shirt and he said, "Yes, please." I have probably spent (no joke) twenty hours in the last two weeks working algebra problems so I can help Bren. Good grief. It was hard the first time around, but with a 53 y.o. brain? Mucho difficulto. Love geometry, but freeing the "x" and solving for the unknown? Not so much.
ReplyDeleteLove the bouquet! I was at Trader Joe's yesterday, and I had to force myself to walk away from the flowers. I could have spent our entire grocery budget on ranunculus and peonies and tulips...and lavender and basil...and heather. Well, you get the idea (-:
I just listened to the Fools Rush In version that Stephie posted on fb. Fun song. I am not as familiar with Frank as I am with Herb Alpert. When Herb comes on I am instantly in my dad's convertible, driving down Hwy 280 to San Jose. Sweet memories.
Happy Friday all,
Di
Hi Di!
DeleteI hear Herb Alpert and remember my Mom cranking it up while cleaning the house. She also loved Andy Williams and the Carpenters, plus the Ray Conniff Singers (I have no idea how to spell that).
Algebra = misery. All my memories of math are miserable. Seriously.
God bless Katie - her good attitude and helpful mama will make a big difference in her outcome.
Di, I actually really enjoy freeing x. Haha. I especially enjoy factoring polynolials. It's like a big puzzle to me. My kids both think I am very strange for this. :)
DeleteSandy C
My mom had Herb Alpert also (several of his albums)--the music of my childhood! I remember bopping around the living room to many of his songs. This was back in the day when the stereo was an actual piece of furniture in the living room. My mother still has it, although it's just a place to display things now.
DeleteToday's QLCS quote:
Delete"I really enjoy freeing 'x'."
This will make me laugh for the foreseeable future.
Ugh. Math. Chemistry. Pre-Algebra and Accounting 1 were more my style. Ha! I am a late bloomer. Heck, I'm still blooming!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the last picture. How fun would that little room be?
And I'd say that was a good way to start your day, Donna!
Sarah P. from Iowa
I took one semester of chemistry in high school and have no idea how I passed. Algebra is WAY easier (to me) than chemistry. I tried to keep up with Lucas when he took Apologia Chemistry in homeschool co-op, but still struggled. finally, when Cassie took it she and I cried and tried and FINALLY it clicked for me--mostly.
ReplyDeleteI subbed for 4th grade at our wonderful little Catholic school yesterday and loved it. 4th grade math, reading, science, and history I can handle! :-)
That was me, sandy c. Who subbed for 4th grade and shares your and Katie's chemistry struggles. :)
ReplyDeleteLate bloomers unite!
ReplyDeleteP.s. so thankful for Internet with worksheets and answers!!
Are Bethany and Alan the baristas? My girls think it's weird that I know all the baristas' names at our local Starbucks. They don't know my name, but they have my order waiting for my when I get to the counter. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOVE the colorful corner picture!
Yes. They knew my name first. In fact they call me Miz Boo and they even know when my hubby comes in to get my drink. Once someone recognized me from the blog at Starbucks and from then on a few of the girls wrote 'The Celebrity" on my cup.
DeleteThey are sweet baristas. They are sometimes the only people I see besides my family all day.
They may be the only people you see all day, but certainly not the only hearts you touch.
Delete(((LIKE)))
DeleteMary Z
LIKE
Deletethat's sweet.
Sarah P. from Iowa
Yep! Sonja gets it!!!
DeleteBethany and Alan are two lucky baristas. Getting to see Miz Boo every day! Lucky!
Di
Holy cow, Di. Blogspot now knows you're 'Diane Wheeler', not just 'acircleofquiet'.
DeleteGroovy.
Oh my, spam-person, Hugh Hefner does not fit in with our discussion of late bloomers!! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful color in today's pins which is so appreciated on yet another grey and gloomy day...
I feel for Katie and you. I am so grateful that Molly can reach out to Jamey when she has questions on physics or chem, etc., as my brain is not wired that way. Poor girl has two English majors for parents, so we're of no help. :)
Mary Z
Like button!
DeleteP.S. I would love to have tea at one of those tables by the colorful row houses! And maybe some Frank could be playing softly in the background!
ReplyDeleteMary Z
Well, this is great! I saw the pin of the t-shirt this morning and posted it on FB. I loved it. It spoke to me. I had a hilarious convo with friends about how much we all hated math and/or loved it and it's so good for the brain for exercise (I said, if algebra is exercise, then my brain is so not fitting into her swimsuit this summer...) Then, I went off for a few hours to preschool....came home and opened up your blog and thought, "Oh hey, what a coincidence! That t-shirt!". Well, of course I did...you are whereI found it to begin with. I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed. :) Ha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the t-shirt. It's a keeper. I would totally buy it.
Also, love the colorful pictures!
Quote of the day #2:
Delete"It spoke to me."
:)
Donna,
ReplyDeleteI took Advanced Algebra as a college junior. I aced the class at 20 and even went on to take Trig. I'm a math late bloomer, for sure because I was scared to death of all math in high school and had the grades to prove it (bad). And then I *married* a math teacher who spends all day teaching the subjects that I was so afraid of.
I'm so glad that we don't stay stuck as our high school selves.
Today is my 26th wedding anniversary. My dear husband truly balances me out with math and in so many other areas. Di, do you remember the day? You and John were there!
Happy anniversary, Alison!! Wishing you many more years of happiness!
DeleteMary Z
Happy Anniversary!! 26 years is THE HUGE.
DeleteSarah P. from Iowa
Di was there. That is so cool! I hope you and hubby do something very special this weekend to celebrate. It's a really big thing to stay married these days!! Way to go :o)
ReplyDeleteToday is Alison's 26th wedding anniversary to the dear man who tried to tutor me in Algebra when I was 27. He is a saint. And I am a very late math bloomer.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Alison and Ron! And of course I remember the day. We wore hats and John's glasses were HUGE (-: And your grandfather's home was gorgeous!
Love,
Di
VERY cool ! I love this.
DeleteWe celebrated last night. We'll celebrate tonight...and all weekend, really. Movies, a walk on the beach..time with our dog. Being married takes work, but QL helps me stay focused on what matters: kindness and love.
DeleteLike like like like button.
DeleteLove this post. Donna, I just wanted you to know that you introduced me to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I am now reading the book about him and can hardly put it down. I was reading excerpts from it to my husband in bed last night as he was trying to go to sleep. I didn't know much about Martin Luther, but, boy, was he a grumpy old man! I was laughing out loud at some of the things he said to people. Anyway, thanks for broadening my world a little more by reading about this great man.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the way it goes? We love those things we knew as children and can recite word for word any random song or movie line. It feels like home.
ReplyDeleteMy computer geek boy who will receive his computer engineering degree in four weeks (!!!)knows how to blow my mind when he comes home and writes discrete math problems on my chalkboard in the kitchen. It makes me anxious just looking at it. That's the math that uses upside down letters and nonsense symbols. Yikes. Makes my brain hurt. Tell Katie I sympathize with her.
#3:
Delete"It makes me anxious just looking at it."
Totally agree.
Me too - nodding my head and totally agreeing, over here. Math and anxiety just go together for me.
DeleteI was a later bloomer too. My kids kind of are also. I dislike pushing the children so hard. I want them to learn how to work hard, but not at the expense of their childhood. I live in Maryland, which is a very competitive schooling area. Oh well, we shall survive!
ReplyDeleteThat tee shirt quote is right up my alley. I understand Indiana is going to stop teaching cursive. I had a surgery the other day, and had to sign my name, and print it underneath my signature. I wonder what the future holds for such occasions. Goodnight from GA, where the pollen has laid its yellow blanket over everything, even though we had major storms here last night. Sweet Dreams.
ReplyDeleteWow. Another spammer focusing on Hindi papers. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteOk. Here 'tis:
Me. Math. Not good. College algebra - FIVE TRIES. No joke. I was picked to sing for our commencement, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Cap and gown. Mom and Dad in the front row next to the retired governor. I sang the anthem and the school song..... And got home to receive the letter that said I had failed algebra AGAIN and hadn't really graduated. So much for that.
So I worked for a year with a college ministry that required a degree... And quietly took Math 051 at the local Stench (extension university campus), where the prof took kindly to me and said, 'I should give you a D, but I want to make sure you never, ever have to do this again, so I'm giving you a C.'
Right. So yes. I'd like the t-shirt too, please.
Stephie.
(My name just auto-corrected to 'Stroke'. Oh brother.)
Steph, what a sweet prof to have grace with you and bump you to a C. Sorry you had to wade through all that math to get your degree. At least you got to sing at commencement; glad the letter came AFTER. yikes.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for the spirit lifting pictures ... we continue to get snow in Northern Michigan ... I think we MISSED Spring and Summer and have gone straight into winter again ... OH MY ... they are SO beautiful ... the colors, the flowers ... you can FEEL the warmth ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh yes ... forgot to add ... I did HORRIBLE in Algebra and have hated it all my life ... when I want to paint a room I just buy TEN GALLONS more paint than I need and return the unopened cans when the room is done ... never run short of paint! ;-) LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm late to this fun party, but I did read the post yesterday and my 12-yr-old was sitting next to me and we both laughed out loud at that shirt. I'm a word person (you may have guessed that by now ;) ) and she likes to read, not do math. So we both get it!! But I am a fan of the idea of math. It's one of the many ways that God has spoken order into creation. Something that just occurred to me: you know how there are experts who say that there are many different ways of learning? (I agree with this, by the way.) Now there are teaching methods that teach to students who learn in these different ways. (Note: I don't know a lot about what I'm talking about, just enough to be dangerous.) What if God were the original awesome teacher who created people in so many unique ways, and then gave them all these different ways to know him? Math speaks to some people. Others love words. Nature is the love language for certain folks. I don't know...it made more sense in my head before I began typing it out! Maybe I'm not the word person I thought I was... :P haha!
ReplyDeleteI love those gorgeous pictures!!
I am really late to the party, but just had to add that math is the bane of my existence. Thank God for nice math tutors or I would not have graduated from high school. I managed to avoid taking even one math course in college. My science courses were Baby Biology and Physics for non-science majors. ;-)
DeleteLoved the color-filled photographs and those flowers...beautiful beyond words.
love and prayers, jep