Now, this is not to say I consider myself  a genius-type individual, often quite the contrary:  it’s merely an observation that I have more of an analytical mind than a creative one. I love math, puzzles and games.  Further evidence of this is my having a major in Chemistry and Biology, and also having worked as a chemist for a number of years.  I’m not tooting my own horn here either, as much as I would like to have a creative streak I’m simply stuck in the mire of numbers and statistics. Now some might think this has no effect on my abilities and attributes as a mother - and while mostly true I have to say it does creep into the day to day in strange and unusual ways. Here are some examples:

1. I notice odd relationships between seemingly unrelated things. For instance, there is an inverse relationship between the number of bowls in our cupboard and the amount of ice cream in our freezer. I observed this phenomenon when I opened the cupboard this morning to get a bowl for my cereal - ordinarily getting a clean bowl is not a problem, except for the times when there is Mint Chip or French Silk ice cream in the freezer.  Others may similarly notice this trend, however I’m planning on buying different flavours of ice cream to determine if there is a relationship between the flavours purchased and the speed at which bowls go from cupboard to sink (notice I don’t say dishwasher…).

2. It was highly statistically likely that my son would be a boy - so much so I could say with near certainty he would be a boy. Though I didn’t exactly have time to calculate the exact statistical likelihood, I considered it.  However when pregnant with my son, I was working two jobs and going to school - i.e. I was a bit too busy.  However, I did think often of the number of children born in my family before my son was born, and noted that 7 were girls and 3 were boys. On my husband’s side, there were no children yet born to our generation. In the preceding generation however both sides had 3 boys, our side had two girls and theirs only one. I knew for certain my child would be a boy - and I was right. Most moms have an inclination, but I used science!

3. I follow the recipe to a “T”. Only very recently have I attempted cooking without recipes - it’s a very nail-biting-endeavour for me and requires way too much creative thought and ability. If it says a cup and a half, I will put in a cup and a half - even if I have to go to the store to get that little bit more. A recipe is like an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in the lab - it is meant to be followed to the letter so your work is legally defensible. If my recipe does not turn out as I had hoped and barring any oven catastrophe - I am confident the issue lies with the recipe and not the cook.

4. I find I have a lot of extra explaining to do to my son, since when he asks a question he gets answers that for a three year old only raise more questions (though most answers do, I would call my answers a bit above and beyond**). I have explained the process of photosynthesis to my son when he asked why leaves are green; I explained the various theories of the extinction of dinosaurs when he ever so innocently asked where the dinosaurs all went; and now that our son likes playing with the Planet Heroes frequently find myself trying to explain the concept of black holes, gravity and why planets orbit the sun.  Can you say overkill?  I just don’t know how to explain it any differently.

All this points to the likely fact that I am a nerd.

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** As an aside, I am a firm believer that we should never take our children’s intelligence and ability to comprehend for granted.  I think sometimes perhaps parents fall into the trap of not explaining things as fully as a child can understand because somehow we don’t think they’re ready for it.   There’s only one way to find out what a child can handle.