My Love Hate Relationship With Numbers

My Love Hate Relationship With Numbers

Today’s special events, Pi Day 3-14-15 and Albert Einstein’s birthday, have made me take pause and reflect on the significance of numbers in my life.  If there is such a thing as a relationship with numbers, I have had and continue to be in a relationship with them.  If there are any psychology majors or numerologists out there, get your pens and pads ready because I may be that special case that needs analysis and treatment but then again my numbers might just add up correctly.
 As the first child of the first son of the first son and the first child of the first and only daughter, this made me the first grandchild on both my paternal and maternal sides of the family.  The number 1 has always played a major role in my life.  I, after all, am number 1 and was treated with a distinction that was bestowed upon me by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles that was not quite the same for any of my siblings or cousins that followed.  This number brought to me a great deal of preferential treatment which as a child living in that moment is the ultimate.  However, great things are always expected of number 1 and enormous responsibilities are handed to number 1.  You must be as close to perfect as possible.  You must be exceptional.  You must set a good example for those that follow because you are number 1.  You are the first to achieve and the first to fail.  You can trailblaze or be complacent.  Whatever you choose, it will set the standard for those that follow.
There are so many memories tied to numbers.  One of my great achievements and favorite memories was learning to count.  My grandfather taught me to count in both English and Spanish at a pre pre-school age.  I liked numbers but as I got older somehow my love of numbers waned and mathematics became a challenge to me.
  In my world, numbers have different meanings, significance, and emotions attached to them.  6/9/41 =my father’s birthday, 49=his age when he died, 16=my mother’s age when she had me,  5/9 my only brother’s birthday, 7/9 my brother’s youngest, 9/6 my brother’s eldest.  66=my parent’s first new car, 76=my high school graduation, 79= my firebird, 80=my college graduation, 2015=master’s degree, 8=octet rule, 6.022×10*23=Avogadro's number, 46=human chromosomes.
Of all the numbers out there, my favorite number is the number 4.  4= number of kids in my family, 4=my p.o. box number, 4=the total number my birth month and day add up to.  This number has special significance to me especially when it is repeated such as in 444.  For many, this is a spiritual number which represents the presence of angels.  I believe I am partial to this number because, for whatever the reason, I feel a sense of happiness and inner calmness when I see that number.
  Today, 3/14/15 pi day and Einstein’s birthday (3/14/1879), take the time to reflect about the roles that numbers have played in your life.  As for me, I don’t think I will be around in 3/14/2115, 100 years from now, but for today, all I can hope for is that no one thinks I’m 1096.