At the end of the 1978 school year I found myself sitting at the back of my son's grade two class. Each parent was invited to sit in on the class of their choice. I had chosen my son's strongest subject giving him the opportunity to show his mother his very best.

"Matthew, what's 1+1?" his teacher asked. "2" he replied. "Good."

"Now what's 2+3?" With confidence he chirped "5!"

What a great start. My chest swelled and at "5+7=12".

I beamed at the back of my brilliant son's head. It was all I could do to keep from rushing forward to give him a hug and plant a kiss on his clever little head. Jumping ahead to multiplication he stunned and amazed his teacher at "What is 4 x 2?" Again, the whip like answer came back at "8!", and I had an epiphany of my son helping David Suzuki find the answer to a difficult equation. However, at 4 x 3 he faltered and ground to a halt. No doubt this higher level of math would be mastered next year.

Throughout all of Matthew's school years I watched his math progress and constantly coaxed him along. The reward system seemed to help him, especially when it came to memorizing the times table. 7x8=56 became the password for all sorts of extra rewards. That might include an extra slice of pie after homework, or 15 minutes more of TV time. But a wrong answer meant no extra goody, and no second chance to score the chocolate cake. There is only one right answer in math, and that's all there is to it. The system worked and he did well in all forms of math.

Now, at 29 years old he's still using math every day. He's a plumber, forming his own company.

There is very little leeway in decision making when it comes calculating and buying costly material like copper piping. In his own new business he must calculate very carefully to win a bid on a new job. His employees depend on getting the work, which not only reflect the best cost but the company's reputation. The final price has to be within the projected budget and finished on time. Added to all of this are expenses to keep the business running. That includes overhead, employee wages and benefits and a multitude of other things that add up.

It's all maths and it is never ending.

Even outside the workplace math seems to be a big focus in my son's life. Married in 2005, he and his wife pooled their resources, saved for a down payment on a house, calculating a long term financial plan. Then to top it all of they created a different answer to a simple math equation.

It's true that 1+1=2, but they showed me how 1+1 also can equal 1. I am happy to say that I am now a grandmother to sweet little equation in a pink blanket!

My heart swells, a kiss on the forehead, a hug and a squeeze. Bravo!

June 3, 2008