Chemistry: To teach me is to love me

When I was in high school, right after the earth cooled, (okay maybe not that long ago, but it was right after man started walking upright), Chemistry was a no no. In order to do well in Chem you had to understand mathematical relationships and work with numbers. In high school, being somewhat artsy, even if the teacher held the flashlight, I could not add my way out of a paper bag with the top turned down. Get the picture? But I wanted to be a scientist...

In college, towards this goal, I took Freshman Chem twice. Once at the big university sitting among 300 students and then again at the smaller state college with 30 other students -- in the summer all day long. It was that summer, I realized that Chemistry and Math share a dance, a movement, a flow. They are perfect thought and speak nature's word. I fell in love, and have been faithful to the call, regardless of this life's pursuit ever since.

In grad school while learning to be that scientist I taught freshman chem at an even bigger state U. I told my ducklings about the dance. I clued them in, "Learn it now and you will have it forever." It's true.

For last night I was once again called up to the midnight Chemistry on deck circle. "Teach me about buffers."

My sleepy heart skipped a beat. It had been easily 25 years since I taught buffers, and a good 20 years since I used one. My response, "Get me your book." At this point it was reported that the book sucks. I smiled. The secondary review of, "It tells me nothing," followed. I shook my head and grabbed it for myself, remembering when I too had uttered that thoughtful assessment of my own text books. "We'll take this section by section, doing each example step by step," and we did.

Afterwards, I concluded that the text is actually quite wonderful at laying out the dance. The movement from molar to mole to gram to Ka to pH -- lovely. Be still my heart.

We did more over Special K this morning. At which time I told her, "You're smarter than me. You are doing more Chemistry in high school than I ever dreamed of doing."

She doesn't believe me. Called me a liar. But it's true. And as she walked out the door, I uttered those standard mother daughter words: I love you, and I don't lie.

To teach is to love.