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In a message dated 4/3/03 9:42:57 AM, genant2@... writes:

<< I agree. I don't tell my boys anything. They decide everything. What,
when,
how much food to eat. And they are great at it. >>

Marty and I just got back from the breakfast buffet at Shoney's.

He had a check-up this morning, as we needed the doctor to sign off on a form
for him to apply for the Junior Police Academy this summer. It was the
first time he had been to the doctor since he got a tetanus shot at 9. He's
14. I reminded him that when he got a shot we offered to take him out for
ice cream, and so asked if he wanted to go out to breakfast.

Truth was, I was hungry. He got up early on his own and the rest were asleep
anyway. And we were having good conversations.

So. Growing fourteen year old boy who just got a "strong as a rock" checkup.
Unlimited breakfast.

He got a Dr Pepper to drink. I got tomato juice.

He got one plate, not too full, eggs, biscuit, gravy, potatoes, two pieces of
bacon and one link sausage.

That was all. We ate. Talked. Sat.

I asked if he wanted to go back for seconds. He said "I was thinking about
it."

I reminded him he had first said he wanted to go where they had pancakes. So
he got pancakes, but said they weren't so good, so left most of them on the
plate.

He is not desperate for food. Good.

I wanted to keep his napkin but he wadded it up. While I was at the
bathroom, he was putting some mathematical notation of his own devising,
mostly, something about how stats and encounters are to work in a new
western-scenario online RPG he and a friend are designing. He said "Plain
math is so pretty. I really like it." And by that he seemed to mean that
the way logic lays out on paper is attractive to him.

Most of the two formulas he was writing were symbolic. All, maybe. It was
hit points and adjustments and relationships to the opponent's strengths. In
letters with function and relationship symbols.

For something he was writing the abbreviation and putting a little plus sign
below and to the right. Not quite where subscripts go, but right underneath.
I asked if that was just a symbol he made up or something common to gaming.
He said he made it up to mean that amount or more. So I showed him the
symbols for equal or greater and equal or less. He found that pretty AND
useful.

I also told him to show that stuff to his dad who could show him some
programming symbols.

And I told him I found musical notation really pretty and elegant.

We could have gone, but when the waitress asked if he wanted more Dr Pepper
he said yes. We have DP at home. He was having fun sitting and talking to
me.

And he didn't look at me for permission to say yes, which seemed an indicator
that he felt whole in the situation too. And it was his post-doctor-visit
activity, too, so it was "his turn" in that way, I suppose.

As we were leaving the restaurant, though, he said "I just LOVE math."

Cool!

Sandra

Pamela Sorooshian

Oh gosh. Got me ALL choked up, Sandra.

Thanks for that story!!!

-pam


On Thursday, April 3, 2003, at 10:53 AM, SandraDodd@... wrote:

>
> As we were leaving the restaurant, though, he said "I just LOVE math."
>
> Cool!