Today is my daughter’s birthday. Happy birthday, Elisabeth!
Awake in the wee hours recently, I got to thinking about birthdays. Birthday math, actually.
Like a few years ago when my wife Cheryl and I celebrated our 100th birthday together! We were born in the same year, just over six months apart. So I realized that somewhere between our 50th birthdays there would be a day when the sum of our ages equaled exactly 100 years. I calculated the date and we went out for a special dinner that night.
Another time just a couple of years back, my friend Brian and I went for a “ride your age” bike ride. The year prior we’d gone riding together on my birthday and he’d laid down the challenge. When we got together for a “birthday ride” one year later, we agreed that neither of us was ready to ride 64 miles that day. So we rode 32 miles and added it together!
My daughter and my mom both have birthdays in August and this month mom celebrates her 90th birthday. So – back in the wee hours – I got to thinking about “when would Elisabeth be half her grandmother’s age?” I started plugging in numbers in my head and wasn’t getting anywhere. Then I saw that it’s a simple algebraic equation, so I set it up in my mind and worked the numbers to calculate the value of X. I’m not about to give away my grown daughter’s age, so I’ll just leave it at that …
But that thought stream led me to another birthday math challenge, which I can share. My grandson Ransom celebrated his 21st birthday on February 2nd this year while studying in China. I celebrated my 66th on June 14th – and “rode my age” in the Cartersville Century bike ride just two weeks later! So, here’s the puzzle. On what date will Ransom be exactly half my age?