Calculated

I have a confession. I love numbers. And calculations. Not necessarily math per se, but the art of playing with the numbers to see where they might go . It's reminiscent of my better known love affair with words. (Not necessarily grammar or punctuation, just plain, embellishable words that form up into lines that triangulate paragraphs to eventually fill a page telling a tale... ahem. You get the picture.) Except that the words are tricksy things that I can twist and shape while the numbers generally adhere to concrete realities.
This is why I get to balance our checking accounts. It is also why I teach and reteach our kids' math lessons in the summer. And why I don't need the coupon lady to teach me how to play the Grocery Game. It is exactly why I need a formula... okay, let's just get it out in the open, shall we? It's why an equation was and is the answer to my weight-loss woes. All the numbers representing calories in (food!) and calories out (energy utilized!) line up in a lovely tally that makes my little heart go pitter-pat. And if the numbers line up, then I absolutely lose weight.
It's not a miracle diet, doesn't require a special grocery list, and no foods (or food groups!) are eliminated so long as I account for the corresponding calorie count. It's complicated, but I like the complications because they help me to focus on exactly what I am doing to meet my goal.