Geometry And

This morning while recovering from a difficult weekend, I suddenly recalled the year I became acquainted with geometry.

Although it was a dormant memory conveniently tucked into emotional quicksand, immediately it erased any current anxiety.

I remembered that other June when at the ripe old age of 15, I was scheduled to graduate from Cathedral High School.

My parents were quietly confident I would be be one of the 1,000 young women walking down the vast aisle of St. Pat’s Cathedral on a sunny Sunday June afternoon.

That is what my parents expected to happen only because their oldest daughter had not yet experienced many failures.

While there were a few notable social ones (not receiving an invitation to the prom and Prince Charming being still far in the distance,) Mom and Dad were quite confident of attending a graduation.

I had waltzed through my high school years embracing Shakespeare and quoting Cicero but then fell quickly to my knees the moment I was introduced to geometry.

I had already quietly endured other personal failures including being inept at mastering the Tango, but nothing before had the potential consequences of failing geometry. Certainly none my parents considered significant.

Yet being realistic I had to admit I would certainly not be welcome in the job market. Although I could read, write and quote a dozen or so poems, none of that was as marketable as geometry.

I realized I was unemployable and on the distinct road to becoming a failure.

Now a lifetime later, I must confess.

I have no idea how I ever passed the required regent exam.

I know it was not because of my ability.

Geometry and I were enemies, We did not and could not comprehend each other.

Yet somehow I passed (barely) or possibly someone made a mistake in grading.

However, that was my introduction to miracles because it most certainly fell into that category..

Despite my world seeming dismal this morning, a long painful memory of the year I was 15 unemployable and on a precipice of failure reinforced this firm belief.

And I know tomorrow the sun will shine again, and once more I will tuck geometry into the limbo of yesterday.