Who would have thought?

It is requirement of high school/junior high to whine and complain as one learns. Most (if not all) of us can remember saying "when am I ever going to use this". I remember using this phrase several times as I struggled through my geometry and calculus homework. Being interested in science I took more than my fair share of math classes. Geometry was always hardest for me and I could not figure out why I would ever need to find the surface area of a cone again- except maybe to help my kids with homework. But, if that was the only time I'd use it, why would my kids need to know it?
Then came college. Where you could actually study subjects you were interested in. I learned that there were some obscure equations you would need to know while working in a lab or conducting studies in the field. I wanted to scream at them. I realized that in a scientific workplace these equations and formulas were important, but still when would I ever need them as a stay-at-home mom. I hardly expected to ever use those equations again- except for helping with homework.
When I returned to my alma mater high school as a teacher, I hated that question. I wondered if I had been as whiny and annoying when I was in school. "Biology is important!"
Who would have though that while making costumes this Halloween, I would need to remember formulas related diameter and circumferences of a circle. Or, the height, radius, and area of a cone? But, I did. I needed a hat for a scarecrow. I had no pattern or example to work off. All I knew was the circumference of the head that would be wearing the hat. I dusted those equations of the back shelf of my brain, and now have one brown felt scarecrow hat! It is not a work of art by any stretch, BUT for someone as sewing challenged as me working without a pattern,I'm quite proud of myself (I'll post pics of the costumes in the next few days)