We are Such Geeks

I just had the greatest laugh with my brother. We were sitting in the living room, looking at the Ask Marilyn column from last Sunday's Parade magazine. It had a little math problem in it and we both looked at each other with the same thought: "Let's solve it." I grabbed a pen and paper and started talking out loud as I started to work. He quickly got frustrated with me and grabbed his own paper and pen and it was off to the races.

Did I mention that we both used to compete in Math and Science contests in high school? Oh yeah, we were in the elite group that got to travel to other schools for the Nerdy Olympics. He was much better than me but, fortunately, two years younger than me so I never had to compete directly against him. For me, it was really an opportunity to get out of class and meet 'smart boys.' :)

Needless to say, he figured it out way before I did for several reasons:

a. I've forgotten some basic algebra. Whoops. It's all coming back to me now. Really. In my defense, it was five equations in five variables.

b. I was laughing so hard I couldn't concentrate or write. And that's not just an excuse!

Since we'd had so much fun doing that, I pulled out a book that I'd stashed away a long time ago. It had been quietly gathering dust, waiting for just a moment like this. Yes, you got it, a book of brainteasers. We found another algebra word problem and pounced on it. In my eagerness to demonstrate that I can still do it, I went through my solution out loud. By this time, we were both laughing so hard that M stuck his head into the room to check if we were alright.

You've never seen two people have so much fun with math.

Ahhhhhh, the memories that brought back. The good old days.

I love my brother.