Peppermint Winter

I have a child who moves very slowly.  Life in this child's world is still in the horse and carriage stage . . . and make that a very slow horse, by the way.

Add in to this picture that this child is also very easily distracted.

There are two problems with this scenario.

#1 - My mind never stands still.

#2 - I teach math to this child.

Math sessions usually consist of me giving the child a scenario involving Bill, his desire to purchase lumber, and the necessity of determining how much lumber Bill should purchase.  And ten minutes later finding, not a tidy multiplication problem on the paper, but instead small detailed sketches of a rocket ship, a medieval dagger, and a quadruple dip ice cream cone . . .  chocolate chip on top.

This may sound charming, but if all you want is to get through a math lesson, it can be very trying to have this happen on all 27 problems of the chapter "Multiplication in the Real World."

::sigh::

So sometimes this mother/math teacher becomes impatient, irritable, and sharp-tongued . . . and that's only by  problem #7.

This week, as we inched through problem #23, with admonitions of, "Focus!  No drawing!  Look at your paper!" this child looked at me and said, "Mom, you seem stressed.  Just a minute."

With a click of the mouse, we moved off of "Multiplication in the Real World" to I-Tunes.  And then floating through my speakers came Owl City's "Peppermint Winter."

We completed problem #23 with "Peppermint Winter" soothing my nerves, starting at the base of my neck and unwrinkling each kink to the tips of my fingers and toes.

The beautiful thing is . . . "Peppermint Winter" had me so relaxed and unwound that by the time the song was over, I didn't care about the amount of lumber Bill purchased or even whether Bill purchased lumber . . . or perhaps changed his mind and decided to bake a yule log instead.

So . . . if you are feeling a little Christmas stress, 15 more things on your to do list than can feasibly be accomplished, the knowledge that guaranteed by Christmas shipping ends this week, etc., you must listen to "Peppermint Winter" (link below).

If it can get me through 1 hour and 48 minutes of "Multiplication in the Real World," there's no telling what it could do for you!

Listen to "Peppermint Winter"