Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Chemistry and Blood!

Please understand that I flunked high school chemistry.  Well, I would have flunked if not for it being an elective so I could drop the class with no fuss.  And I did drop Chemistry.  Because even with tutoring by a multitude of smart friends and working my butt off I had an F in the second week of the second six weeks. (That was a mouthful wasn't?)  Not a high, it might round up to a D with a miracle of a curve grade, but a kiss your freedom goodbye, you are grounded until death F.  Why does this matter?  Because now I like Chemistry.  Not the college level if you mix it wrong the science lab will burn kind, but the teaching kids about basic reactions type of Chemistry.  As an adult I now understand that everything in life involves Chemistry.  Cooking, laundry, cleaning are all a matter of Chemistry.  I point all this out to my children because I want them to be interested in the world around them and how it works.

Today as I drove to pick up Twin A and B from school the nurse called me.  Really?  Fifteen minutes until the end of the day and someone is in the nurse's office?  At least that is what I said on the inside as I answered the phone.  Twin B had  been in her office for over 20 minutes with a raging nose bleed.  The kind that takes forever to stop and grosses out all those witnessing the event.  You know, the kind that loves to mess up expensive school uniforms through no fault of the bleeding victim. Well by the time I got there he had stopped bleeding and all was well with the world.  Cool beans, no doctor visit and I get to chat with a friend. 

Once we were home I asked for the bloody clothes to be brought into the laundry room and then proceeded to show Twin Bloody a neat Chemistry moment.  Hydrogen Peroxide will attack the proteins in the blood and start working instantly on the stains.  Now to me that is cool.  The little bleeder took one look, gave me the stink eye and headed off to forage for a snack before tackling homework.  Kids.  They have no sense of wonder. 

I hope your week is full of awesome Chemistry and no blood.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love reading all your entries, Renee! I feel I'm there watching it all unfold. :)