"Are you coming to my game?" she messaged me.
"Of course we are!" I enthusiastically replied.
"We are so lucky because we get to play on the 14th instead of Friday the 13th," she observed.
I responded with a chuckle, but then reassured her that I doubted the date would have anything to do with the outcome of the game. It is the skill of the team that will make the difference.
The brief interchange prompted me to speculate about the origin of the superstition surrounding Friday the Thirteenth. The conclusion I came to in my brief online search is that nobody seems to be able to attribute it to any one incident in history. I did learn that the fear of Friday the Thirteenth has its own special name: paraskevidekatriaphobia. Let's hope no one ever draws that one in a Spelling Bee!
Whether you can pronounce the word, spell it, or read it without stumbling over it, the North Carolina Stress Management and Phobia Institute claims the date generates fear in the hearts of some estimated 21 million Americans.
Yesterday, some people stayed home, refused to go to work, or even spent the day in bed because of the date on their calendars.
I wonder how often we let our lives be ruled by a "Friday the Thirteenth" mentality.
It is easy to become victims of superstition, but I don't necessarily mean the "black cat walking in your path" or "breaking a mirror" kind.
I'm talking about the beliefs that dominate our behavior. We refuse to travel the roads in life we would like to because we might end up going the wrong way or getting lost. We don't engage in the work we could be doing because we probably won't do it well enough. We stay in bed to avoid all the tasks we should be accomplishing because we don't get them all completed anyway.
There are two more Friday the Thirteenths this year, but don't let a date on a calendar stifle your motivation, your participation, or your determination. Embrace each day and enjoy it to the fullest.
Oh, and if you do happen to be one of the 21 million who fear the date, take heart. In 2014, there's only one!
Thanks for reading my blog!
4 Comments:
Hey, Patti! Your entry title on Facebook brought me over to see what you had to say about the day. I paid no attention to the date while it was happening because the days tend to flow into one another in our neck of the woods. It was gorgeous here, I can tell you that much. The sun shone on the water, we had fun, and all was right in our world -- because God reigns...no matter what the date or day. That's the thing to remember, isn't it?
I had a vocab test on Friday and I actually did better than usual. So I guess Friday the 13th isn't too bad!
Same with me, Normandie. We joked about the date at our exercise group that morning, but having no checks to write that day & no weekly paper to read, it escaped my mind til Madi brought it to my attention that night.
BTW, they held their own for a while, but ended up losing the BB game they played on the 14th. I seriously doubt the date had a thing to do with it! LOL!
Hey Alex! Good for you! I have a feeling, though, that you always do well, so better than usual was probably outstanding!
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