One plus one equals three?

Mathematics makes up one of the three foundational skills that students are expected to "master" as part of their formal education. The three Rs (as in the letter R) of education were considered: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. Does this seem vaguely familiar? Although I am not gifted when it comes to math, even I know that 1+1 equals 2. However, there are rules and there are exceptions to those rules, and I know of an exception to this rule, so permit me to explain.

My older brother and his wife were living in Bangor, Maine, after their wedding on a brisk Fall day in October of 1986, the same fateful day the Red Sox went down in game 6 of the World Series that year. Following the nuptials, my sister-in-law joined my brother in Bangor. It didn't quite provide the atmosphere of Boston where they had initially started dating, but it had the Paul Bunyan statue, the greatest number of pizza "joints" per capita in the state, and home to novelist, Steven King. In the final year of my brother's training, they announced that they would be expecting their first child, likely an October birth.

The parents welcomed their "little" bundle of joy on October 3rd, 1988, and her parents have been trying to keep up with her ever since. Early in her academic career, it was evident that she had a gift for numbers, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them. When she was in high school, she challenged the local college students with her skills too. There was a time I think her father thought she ought to make a career in the military and head for the Naval Academy, but that plan never came to fruition. Instead, she opted for a smaller school and is on the brink of becoming a college graduate, in Mathematics and Education.

In addition to her math prowess, she also has a royal background having been selected to the homecoming court. She once was asked what would define her perfect vacation and she responded by saying that's easy, because she takes it with her family and relatives in Rangeley every year. This spring she spent the semester abroad in Ireland and probably did more for international diplomacy than most politicians. Just to round out her resume, she plays a little rugby for her college and cuts hair on the side.

Yes, this is a young lady who has accomplished much in her brief life but certainly has all the necessary ingredients to expand that growing list of achievements. Happy Birthday Maude, as you celebrate your 22nd. You are one in a million, and if I do the math correctly, I'd say that's awfully rare, just like you!