She had scored all her best goals wearing 22. She wore it for luck, even when she wasn’t playing hockey.
...
22 was her number. She just couldn’t play with boring old number 9.
from: The Highest Number in the World
by: Roy MacGregor
illustrated by Genevieve Despres
My mom’s lucky number was 3. Things happened in 3s for her. She married my dad on March 30 (3/30). They shared 3 homes together. They had 3 children, each of us 3 years apart.
Tomorrow would have been their 69th (notice, 6 and 9 are both divisible by 3, and so is 69!) anniversary. Here are 3 of my favorite memories.
After a long day, we got home and my parents put me to bed. I woke in the middle of the night with a horrible, scary dream about the lions. They were not in cages and they were chasing me all around the zoo. My dad came in to calm me down. I told him my dream. I was still scared. He said not to worry and lay down at the end of my bed and fell asleep. I remember thinking everything must be okay if he fell asleep, so I did too.
2. We didn’t eat out often. Our family’s idea of going out to breakfast involved the Coleman stove, a short trip to the park and scrambled eggs. I’m sure we had other food, too, but I remember the eggs. Mom did the setting out and cleaning up. Dad cooked. It’s the only time I ever remember that he cooked. The eggs were always delicious.
3. Sometimes my girls and I drove in to visit Grandma and Grandpa for the day, and sometimes we’d stay overnight. It took “When the Red, Red Robin,” (and the blue one and the yellow one...) the name of every single friend who “Lies over the Ocean,” and about a gazillion verses of “Charming Billy,” to get there. Mom and Dad always welcomed us hugs and glasses of water. Make that glasses of water and hugs. Driving always made us thirsty!
I’m not sure about lucky numbers. My life seems more haphazard than my mom’s. I’ve had 2 marriages and 2 children. I have 5 grandchildren and 5 cats. I have 3 meals per day and exercise 3 times per week. I’m not so much about finding patterns as I am about loving where I am, who I’m with, and what I have.
Thanks for the memories, Mom and Dad. Happy Anniversary!
--stay curious!
...
22 was her number. She just couldn’t play with boring old number 9.
from: The Highest Number in the World
by: Roy MacGregor
illustrated by Genevieve Despres
My mom’s lucky number was 3. Things happened in 3s for her. She married my dad on March 30 (3/30). They shared 3 homes together. They had 3 children, each of us 3 years apart.
Tomorrow would have been their 69th (notice, 6 and 9 are both divisible by 3, and so is 69!) anniversary. Here are 3 of my favorite memories.
- I was about 6 or 7. My parents took us all to the zoo where we saw gorillas eating their lunch twice. Yuck! Did you know giraffes have blue tongues? (It is so they don’t get sun-burned while they search for leaves in those really high trees! True: Creature Features by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. 2014, Houghton Mifflin.) And the lions. Wow do they have a loud roar!
After a long day, we got home and my parents put me to bed. I woke in the middle of the night with a horrible, scary dream about the lions. They were not in cages and they were chasing me all around the zoo. My dad came in to calm me down. I told him my dream. I was still scared. He said not to worry and lay down at the end of my bed and fell asleep. I remember thinking everything must be okay if he fell asleep, so I did too.
2. We didn’t eat out often. Our family’s idea of going out to breakfast involved the Coleman stove, a short trip to the park and scrambled eggs. I’m sure we had other food, too, but I remember the eggs. Mom did the setting out and cleaning up. Dad cooked. It’s the only time I ever remember that he cooked. The eggs were always delicious.
3. Sometimes my girls and I drove in to visit Grandma and Grandpa for the day, and sometimes we’d stay overnight. It took “When the Red, Red Robin,” (and the blue one and the yellow one...) the name of every single friend who “Lies over the Ocean,” and about a gazillion verses of “Charming Billy,” to get there. Mom and Dad always welcomed us hugs and glasses of water. Make that glasses of water and hugs. Driving always made us thirsty!
I’m not sure about lucky numbers. My life seems more haphazard than my mom’s. I’ve had 2 marriages and 2 children. I have 5 grandchildren and 5 cats. I have 3 meals per day and exercise 3 times per week. I’m not so much about finding patterns as I am about loving where I am, who I’m with, and what I have.
Thanks for the memories, Mom and Dad. Happy Anniversary!
--stay curious!
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