Children are greater than the sum of accountability in any 12-step program
While enduring pandemic in my rural home,
schooling three boys with
long-forgotten,
seemingly irrelevant algebraic formulas
(quadratic, slope, linear equation)
and not going anywhere, really
missing friends, hugs, handshakes…
my longtime pal,
Popcorn
let me stuff my stress into the savory embrace of its kernels
with repeated visits at the kitchen counter.
Whopping batches of stovetop-popped
or that one brand
of white cheddar.
I scanned news
and gorged.
It comforted
without judgment.
And after every tête-à-tête…
a
deft
plunge
into despair’s pit.
Again, I’d binged.
So I learned
to only eat it with my children,
splitting
the
difference.
Because fractions are the superior, relevant math.
