playing with numbers

sunrise:  4:54

Today's was the latest sunrise since May.  It took a month to get from 4:54 to 4:49 and back again.  Although June was a lovely month, I can't say I'll miss all of those earliest risings.  I'm looking forward to the sun speeding up its process of sleeping in, so that I may do the same.  I haven't actually set my alarm forward yet since I like to change it in 10 minute increments.  But soon!

I received an enthusiastic congratulations from a friend yesterday - for reaching 6 months, the halfway point in my year of dawn outings.  It was very kind and gave me a boost.  But if I tap into the part of me that comes from my dad, I quibble over numbers.

I can just hear my family groaning - though many of them have caught the same numbers bug.

Halfway depends on how you look at it.  Half of the year's months are gone, but the halfway point of the year in days will be at about mid-day tomorrow, July 2nd.  July 2nd is the 183rd day of the year, the exact halfway point in the 365 days of 2010.

My father's fascination with numbers has led him to discover all kinds of momentous events that would otherwise have passed us by.  He made a big deal, for example, about the day that he and my mom reached their 10,000 day anniversary.  It comes somewhere between 27 and 28 years.  I have only just realized as I write this that as of about two weeks ago they have been married for 56 years - so they must have passed their 20,000th day within the last year.  I'm amazed that I didn't hear about that one.  It's a pretty good record.

Numerologists and statisticians can spend a lifetime playing with numbers.  Books have been written about numbers - Fermat's Enigma and The Golden Ratio and a bunch of books about zero...  It really can be addicting. 

Between my father and their paternal great-grandfather, a brilliant MIT professor, my children definitely have number play in their genes.  At age six or so, one of N's favorite games was the doubling game: 2 - 4- 8- 16 - etc.  When we got up to 8 and 9 digit numbers she slowed down, but after mulling it over for 5 minutes or so she'd chirp out the answer.

T. wrote a high school research paper on the number 7.

I knew that S. had inherited the numbers gene when he pointed something out to me one Wednesday in February, long ago.  "Hey Mom.  I just realized that today is nine days until we turn nine (he's a twin), and next Wednesday is eleven days until A.(older sister) turns eleven!"

"Wow, Honey.  I never thought of that."

Enjoy a day of numerous pleasures.