 |
|
Page: 
|
|
I tried to explain to her what life had taught me about the Algebra Regents. It really hadn’t mattered one bit in the long run. She looked at me, rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, and stamped her foot. "You don't understand, Daddy," she said. "This is really important. If I don't get it right, I'll fail."
She rolled her eyes again, and a tear appeared. "I can't write about these bears, Daddy. I don't know where to look!" It would be years until she had to face the Algebra Regents. She first had to get past the Dreaded Bear Report, which was required of all second-graders attending Saint Martin of Tours Elementary School. "Let's work on it together, okay?" I said. She calmed a bit. "We can do this together, can't we?" I put my arm around her. "We can do anything together."
"I'll help you. But I can't do it for you. In the end, you’ll have to do it for yourself." "Okay," she said, "Team Holohan?" "Yep," I said as I gathered her up in my arms. "There's nothing we can't do if we use Team Holohan." At some point, I don't remember exactly when, "Team Holohan" had become the antidote for loneliness and fear in our home. Any member can call the Team together at any time. During particularly hectic days, we sometimes have to remind each other that we’re all members of that Team, but so far, Team Holohan has always come across for everyone who lives here. And so we would use it to deal with the Dreaded Bear Report. We wound up in the library for a few hours, learning about books, and bears, and card catalogs, and good work habits. We talked about staying calm and keeping things in perspective. We worked hard, and we had fun.
|
"That's what I thought about the Algebra Regents, sweetheart," I said, but she wasn’t buying any of it. I held her chin softly in my hand and looked into those troubled young eyes. "It seemed important to me back then, too, Kelly, but now, I realize it wasn't all that important. It just seemed that way. Can you understand?"
"You'll help me?" she asked sheepishly.| Dan Holohan - [Intro] | [Email] | [Website] |
| The views expressed in this article are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of MasterPlumbers.com |
