High School

High school makes me feel stupid.  When I was in high school, I was a fairly good student.  Not valedictorian good like my husband, but I did okay.  In college, I even managed to graduate with honors.  I went on to law school and graduated.  I studied, took the bar exam, and passed.  By all accounts, I would seem like a woman with some intelligence.  That all came to a screeching halt this week as I tried to help my son with Algebra 1.  I found myself looking at a worksheet filled with strange formulas and graphs; none of which seemed familiar to me.  Fortunately, one of my daughters has the same class and teacher so I asked her for help.  She began explaining the formulas and graphs to me.  I nodded as she spoke.  And when she was done, she asked if I understood.  I had to tell her that I honestly didn't because she was speaking some kind of foreign language and I needed her to speak English.  She smiled and kindly explained again, but slower this time.  We managed to get the homework done, but I was left feeling very inadequate!

Somewhere between passing the bar and now, I have lost, what seems to be, valuable information.  I had forgotten how to define range and domain for a graph.  I had forgotten how to write a function in the f(x) format.  I know I learned it before.  After all, I had taken Algebra.  Yes it was many, many years ago, but still, I should have remembered. Right?! 

For some reason, not remembering made me feel inadequate..less than...not up to par.  I could hear the voices in my head saying that I've let my intellectual side go.  That I have filled my head with useless and unnecessary stuff.  That's when I began to think about what qualifies as valuable.  Something is valuable when it is highly important or esteemed.  Well, I can tell you that the definitions of range and domain or how to write a function have not been of high importance to me since I took Algebra.  But my kids and my husband are.  And over the years I have learned valuable things about them and myself.  I've learned a lot about child development. (My undergraduate degree is in child development and family studies. There's a lot they don't teach you!)   I've learned how to negotiate and compromise.  I've learned how to extend grace and receive it when given.  I've learned how to love, even when it's hard.  I remember important events and milestones.  I remember people who have passed through our lives, helping us and loving us.  These are highly important and esteemed.

I have come to terms with the fact that there is a lot I have forgotten.  That's what text books, the Internet, and siblings are for.  But there is so much more that I hold near to my heart and cherish.  And that's what's truly valuable.