30-60-90

There are times when the stars and planets just seem to align in such a way that causes numerical peace and harmony in the universe. That five month window of mathematical wonderment reigned from January 14th of this year until 4:22 a.m. today, May 18th. You see, Jeremy, my youngest son, is celebrating his birthday today. He is now thirty one. But, let's go back. Way back. My father is ninety. He was born June 24th in 1917. When he was 30 1/2 I was born. January 14, 1948. When I was 29 1/2 I gave birth to Jeremy. May 18, 1977. So, from January to May of this year there was a 30-60-90 year age difference in the three generations. Today that changes and in June it will change again. But the same precise thirty year age difference will be there at least for the first five months of every year. Whenever I eat in a Chinese restaurant I like to read the horoscopes that are printed on the paper placemats. In addition to the twelve signs of the zodiac, each with an animal sign, there are also five elements--water, fire, earth, metal and wood. My dad, my son and I all share the fire element but my dad and my son alone share the snake as their sign. That makes sense because the 12 signs of the zodiac times the 5 elements equals 60 and that just means that every sixty years things repeat in the exact same order. (A brief aside. Jason is a tiger with wood as his element. Tiger Wood. Is that a jolt I feel in the universe or is it just someone laughing really hard?) I recently found a picture taken of my father when he was in his mid twenties. It was taken on the day he graduated from seminary. He was wearing his cap and gown. I found another picture taken about sixty years later of my son Jeremy on his graduation day after earning his Master's degree. He was also wearing his cap and gown and was standing in an almost identical pose as my Dad had taken. The resemblance was striking. Almost interchangeable. What a funny role genetics play. Sixty years apart in age and yet they looked like twins. So, today Jeremy turns 31. He was born early in the morning interrupting any chance of one last night of sweet rest. The joke is, he came before breakfast so he could have a whole days worth of meals. (Jason was polite and waited until after suppertime.) Peace still reigns in my universe. All is well. Happy Birthday, Jeremy!! Love, Mom xoxoxo