Emily

Emily was in the bath this morning and I washed her hair. As we were rinsing, she asked me "what's six plus six?" "Twelve", I told her.

"Okay," she said. "Then six plus five is eleven. And six plus four is ten. And six plus three is nine."

"Well then," I said to her, "what's six plus seven?"

Without hesitation, she answered "Thirteen."

And also got six plus eight and six plus nine.


She's five years old. When I was five I could print my name, and I was just beginning to figure out that two plus two equals four. She can read, she writes me big long stories about everything, and she can argue her point like a seasoned lawyer. These qualities don't make her easy to live with, to be sure. But she has an open face like a spring blossom, she's alive and aware because I'm teaching her everything I can. Not so much about numbers, but about life, and the earth, and the people that live here. She will change the world some day.