What’s in a Number?

Well, you’ve heard about all the wedding celebrations today. All the births. All the stories.

Folks who place a high priority on such things as the significance of dates have had this one circled on the calendar for a while. 12/12/12. The last of the ‘repeating’ dates that any of us are likely to see (the next one would be scheduled for 01/01/01…that’s 2101 for anyone keeping score at home).

There were stories today of kids celebrating birthdays at 12:12 p.m. Twelve years old. On the 12th. At 12:12. In 2012. In the twelve month.

Folks lined up to schedule wedding ceremonies at the same hour. And, I’d say, to the extent possible, some folks scheduled births for the same moment. There were even sports tie-ins. AND, of course, there was the fundraising concert tonight.

I find it fascinating how stories like this take on a life of their own. In a similar fashion, newscasters were cracking jokes about the so-called ‘end of time’ date which is coming up (just flip-flop the 1 and the 2 in the date and you’ve got the end of the Mayan calendar.

No one really knows what to make of that but no one seems all that concerned, either.

Meanwhile, closer to home, we’re coming up on our own ‘12’ date with significance.

In the Gary household, Friday marks the beginning of our annual ’12 Days of Christmas’ celebration. We’ve been doing this for years – actually since Lisa and I were dating.

Each day, starting on the 14th and going through the 25th, the three of us give Lisa a present. The whole tradition started back when Hallmark started a series of clear acrylic ornaments. Each year, they added another one to the set – from Day 1 to Day 12. That started our tradition.

At first, of course, it was just me. But as ‘the ones’ came along, they grew into this tradition, too. Now, it’s a true family affair.

Can’t give away any spoilers (in case anyone is reading along) but we’ve got some special things planned for the 2012 edition of ‘The 12 Days.’

Of course, to tie back in to 12/12/12, it would be delicious if we were to start our 12 Days celebration today (we could’ve left a package that Lisa would’ve opened just past noon). But, then, that would be bucking with the overall tradition. And whereas, that might’ve been a fun one-year gimmick, you have to keep your eye on the big picture. Right?

So, we’ll leave the observance of 12/12/12 to the news folks and the date enthusiasts. We’ve just got two more days to go, anyway.

JG

(Source: da.feedsportal.com)

Originally posted 12/12/2012