Sitting beside my son and having my coffee, he occasionally asks me to help him with his studies. I won’t say that my assistance comes as quickly as he needs, but it helps in many cases. Math, forget about it; my level is comparable to two levels below his, physics and chemistry; okay, I can help. But the issue is I am a married woman with three boys, and two are living on their own right now. So, for many years, I lost my ability to think as an innocent student, and I found myself comparing physics and chemistry to marriage.
While Chemistry is all about attraction, where things can heat up or sparkle out depending on how compatible the elements are—add the wrong catalyst and BOOM, you detonate your life; physics is all about forces and balances. You work closely to plan, and then one friction can slow your work down. We should never forget that in physics, every action has its equal or opposite reaction. Nothing can slip out unnoticed.
Marriage is the ultimate experiment where physics and chemistry collide. You start with strong attraction, as in chemistry, learn to balance all forces, as in physics, and then realize, like all scientists, that it’s all about theory. What seems right today might be a cause of a war tomorrow.
Well, Biology was my favorite topic in school, so to make it simple, marriage, like biology, is all about growth and adaptation. It starts with a spark of life and then becomes a beautiful environment for species to grow. Couples are like cells, together, splitting responsibilities and forming love. And when things get tough, it’s survival of the kindest!
I love these comparisons and feel like such an achiever to have reached this point in life! But when it comes to helping my son, I might need a tutor—for him, not me—because, let’s face it, my explanations probably confuse him more than his textbooks do!
Dana Obeid
