Eleven Eleven Eleven

Happy 33 week birthday to my little fidgety bundle in my belly. 

Yesterday, our doctor stopped by and informed us that she would deliver our son no later than 35 weeks.That means two weeks from today provided contractions stay away, and no other problems occur. That means there’s a pretty decent chance our son will spend the rest of his life jotting down 6 straight lines in the DOB box:  11-11-11. 

According to some research I did, some superstitious couples tried to conceive so that the birth date would coincide with November 11th, 2011 believing that this would bring additional blessings to their family. That means in the first week of February this year, houses were rockin’ and people didn’t bother knockin’ just a little more than usual.  

So what is the significance of 11-11-11?  

Well blackjack players love the number eleven. It usually means time to double down.  

On the last 11-11-11, one-hundred years ago on November 11th, 1911, The Great Blue Norther descended upon America. The day started fine; there were even record highs for that time of year. Then it all changed; temperatures began to drop. Within the space of ten minutes: the temperature dropped 40 to 50 degrees; by midnight a 66 degree temperature drop was recorded. There were dust storms, thunderstorms, tornados, and blizzards and over 300 deaths were reported.

Almost as tragic, the creators of the cinematic classics Saw II, III and IV, are bringing us a horror movie called 11-11-11 that has the tag line: “Mark the date. You can’t stop what’s coming” 

And World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919.  Fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” and this day is celebrated each year as Veterans or Remembrance Day. 

So 11-11-11 has some significance and will not happen again until November 11th, 2111 when we’re all but memories to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Claude and I aren’t the superstitious kind. As I laid on a gurney and Claude spent some alone time in the “Jerkatorium” at the fertility clinic on that faithful day in March early this year, there was absolutely no thought of conceiving on a particular day. We just wanted to conceive.  

So the bottom line is: whether I give birth on that day, or tomorrow, I will cherish the day, the hour, the minute and the second my son and I look at each other for the first time.