By The Numbers

Today we're 48 days into the "new" year.  Just for fun, thought I'd throw a few numbers out there:

1 = number of weddings I've been to in the past 5 months.

2 = number of times my Ford Escape has been damaged by another (unknown) vehicle this year. (Actually it all happened within a 3 day period 2 weeks ago!)

3 = number of funerals I've been to in the past 3 months. (Not a happy number!)

4 = number of books that I've read thus far in my Pulitzer Project.  I've made my way through His Family (the first winner in 1918 and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  I also found it to be very relevant; even in today's world), The Magnificent Ambersons (which I didn't like...I just wanted to punch the main character in the face), The Age of Innocence (so beautifully written) and am now working on Alice Adams (which I am feeling very close to; I understand and am more like Alice than I'd care to admit).

5 = total number of days my son has had off for the February break (including the weekend).  With all the cold and snow we've mostly been housebound and I'm guessing that even my grumpy kid will be happy to get back to school and be with his friends again.

6 = number of seasons that there will be of Downton Abbey.  How can there be only one more season to go? How can there be so few episodes left?  How can a season be less than 12 episodes?  How I will miss it when it's over!  Downton makes my bitter cold winters a little warmer.

7 = (actually 7.5) miles from my office to home...though with the snow and ice it often feels like much more!  It is also approximately the same temperature it was outside when I went to get gas yesterday.  (And I apologized to the guy at the station.  Definitely an underappreciated job.  Thank you again!)  I never know the exact temperature outside my car anyone since my car's sensor is permanently stuck at 50!  (Now if the real temperature was "stuck" that wouldn't be a bad reading to have!)

8 = (actually 8.5) number of toes my father now has.  Who would have thought that a simple blister on a toe would lead to an amputation!  It's been just over 5 months since my dad got sick and I don't want to say anything more (because last time I did everything went haywire again).  Just saying my prayers that things continue to go well as well as prayers of thanks for recovery

9 = number of hours that I have left of enjoying chocolate before I give it up for Lent.  (Yes, I know there are more hours in the day than that, but I don't usually eat much after dinner and I've set a cut off time for myself.)  I give up chocolate every year for Lent and TRY to reflect on what I've given up and why.  (I'd much rather give up the cold weather and snow, but I don't think that's possible.

10 = the age my son will be on his birthday this August.  How did this happen?  On one hand it seems like he was just a baby days ago and on the other it seems like more than 10 years.  How fast a decade can fly!

And one final number for today:  31. That's the number of days until spring.  After the winter we've had here in the North East and Mid Atlantic, I'm sure we're all counting down the time until spring comes knocking on our door.  I can't wait to see my first robin on my lawn (usually I've already seen by now) and my first crocus poke its head through the ground.  This is the one number I am really counting on! (Fingers crossed!)