"I can't figure out my homework"

That was the quote of the day. I'd like to believe it, but in reality it's Christopher's way of saying, "I don't want to work on it right now so I'll wait until you get home because if you are really tired, you'll just help me with the answers."

So, he's figured me out!

And, the homework was in math. Fractions. Adding complex fractions -- I'm not even sure if that is what they are called. Maybe mixed fractions. It's the 3 2/4 + 4 5/4 kind of problem.

While, he thinks he has figured me out, he should know by now I can't figure out fractions.

Yes, I walk in the door frustrated and tired -- horrible traffic and my husband calling asking me to bring him his shoes to Lee before the basketball game -- and I see the worksheet o' fractions.

I tell Christopher we need to get started and he points out his notes. Thank heavens for step-by-step notes. I was so grateful I forgot to point out to him that he could have read the notes and done this work by himself. Oh, but he needs me. Warm feeling . . .oh, wait I'm frustrated and tired.

We get down to business. Based on the notes, and not because I remember this at all, if the denominators are the same (bottom number for you who don't know), you add the whole numbers first (big number). Then you add the two numerators. In my example above, that would be 7 7/4. Great, time to reduce.

You reduce the 7/4 to 1 3/4 because 1 equals 4/4 and when you add that to 3/4 you get 7/4. I'm so smart -- thank you, thank you notes!

Then, you add 1 3/4 to 7. Answer is 8 3/4. I helped him with the first three and then he knocked out the rest.

My confidence factor on the answers was pretty high -- not because I even know how to check the work beyond what I just wrote -- but because there was a puzzle involved in the work sheet. The kind where the corresponding answer goes with a letter and when you fill in all the blanks you get some clever saying responding to a phrase. Our letters matched up correctly! We got it right!

Call me Ms. Fraction. At least until tomorrow when I'm sure it's adding different denominators -- there's something like finding a common factor or something in there.