You Aren’t Six

I can with completely clear and vivid recall remember when I was vainly trying to get Dear Daughter to understand fractions. I asked other moms for help. I talked to Dear Husband (aka Mr. Math Major). I may have even Googled the topic. I finally landed on the idea to use Kit Kat bars as a visual aid. In case you haven’t viewed a Kit Kat lately, they are perfectly proportioned into fourths.

“You have one whole candy bar and you have one friend that you want to share it evenly with, how much would you give them?” (Notice I did not suggest to Dear Daughter that she share the candy with her brother.)

“Half,” she responded.

“Good!” (Interjecting a lot more enthusiasm than is felt.) “Show me how much you would give your friend, if you were giving her half.” (Silent prayers sent up in desperation.)

Let’s just say we ate a lot of Kit Kat bars before the idea of fractions begin to sink in. In order to preserve my pant size and Dear Daughter’s teeth, we switched over to graham crackers. Personally, the chocolate was more helpful, if not in the actual understanding of fractions, at least in recovering from the trauma we both experienced.

Now, the tables have turned. Dear Daughter has become quite frustrated with me. Imagine that. I seem to be having serious mental issues with understanding and navigating the inner workings of making a website, specifically this website.  She is finding herself explaining the same things over and over to me. I find it highly amusing. Dear Daughter, not so much. Lots of eye rolling is occurring. Her eyes will get stuck one of these days. I’m waiting.

“Do you remember trying to learn fractions?” I said to her today.

“Yeah, but THIS is easy and you aren’t six.”

Well. Thanks for that reminder. (In my defense, she wasn’t six either. No Octomom here.) I think this is perfectly justified payback for some of the agony I suffered over the years. So maybe I’m not six, but a chocolate reward may help my retention. My taste buds aren’t six either, they have evolved. I prefer dark Swiss chocolate. With hazelnuts please.