7×8=56

When I was learning the multiplication facts, the 8s gave me problems, but the 7s seemed impossible. My least favorite fact was 7×8. It was a combination of my two worst sets and I could never remember it directly. My mom taught me that 7×7 was the “San Fancisco 49ers” and that 8×8 was “I want to hold your siiiiiixty-four” (The Beatles song “I want to hold your hand” was released in 1964. That is the only Beatles fact I know.) Those two facts gave me guide posts that I could build the rest of what I needed to know on. To figure out 7×8 I would remember that 7×7 was 49 and then add 7 more or 8×8 was 64 and then subtract 8. Another tough one, 6×7, was 7×7=49-7=42.

Life sometimes feels almost as hard as learning those darn 7s. But there are several guide posts I have that I can compare to and build on. Some of my guide posts are faith, hope, charity, integrity, prayer and family. When I compare the world to those I can see what I need to do next and where I need to go. The more secure my guide posts, the more I can hang what I know and do on them. And those guide posts are pretty secure. Knowing those guide posts means I don’t have to know everything. I don’t need to have the answer to every question that comes up in life. But when something happens that I need help with, I can go back to the basics, back to what I know, back to my guide posts, and from that secure place I can figure out where to go next.