One late Sunday night, I was nestled downstairs in the family room watching some installment of The Real Housewives. Joe comes running in from his man den to find me downstairs and throws me an old, smelly jersey. "It's time!" He yells. "Put this on!" I merely cast it aside, and continue watching my nonsense.
Joe starts fidgeting. "Please," he begs. "When you get this on, meet me upstairs." I follow him upstairs, still without the jersey on, but nosy as to what he is up to. I find him in my bedroom, on my bed, tv blasting. Now, I'm officially not impressed. "What the heck are you doing?" I asked. He is immersed in the baseball game. "Put the jersey on, it has to be on right now!" I follow his request and sit silently on my bed next to him. At commercial break, I look at him completely confused. "The last time the Giants played, I was in here during the exact same inning and I was wearing this and you were wearing that." This was all he managed to say before he was on the move again. "Now what are you doing?" I questioned. "I watched the next inning out in the man den and I was on the telephone." And with that he was off, with phone dialing, and I was still in an old, smelly jersey.
We can laugh at superstitions, or rituals, or old wives tales, or the politically correct term: traditions. Regardless, it seems strange to outsiders, but seemingly has been in my life for a long time, first with my grandpa and mom, and now with Joe. I would like to say that this was Joe's first "incident" but it's not, and it surely won't be the last. At the end of the Bud Light commercial which first aired at Superbowl 2012, the tag line reads, "It's Only Weird if it Doesn't Work." That evening, Joe's San Francisco Giants won the World Series.
As an avid sports fan and hockey player, Joe has told me of his very unhygienic and usual ways of actively participating to insure a win. From wearing the same socks, to never washing a particular jersey the day the Indianapolis Colts play, to even synchronizing his watch to complete a full play-by-play from the last game, his teams usually win and win big.
And what do we do if they don't win? Joe comes up with another plan naturally. For instance, when the Saints played the Colts, I had a Superbowl party. The Colts lost, and I sat there in tears among strangers who just raided my house for free food. Joe says no more watching the Superbowl with people, and we haven't had or attended a Superbowl party since.
So with the "feelings" my grandpa gets, the "things happen in groups of three" that my mom lives by, and the smelly jerseys I will probably endure for the rest of my life from Joe, I have seamlessly followed and even created some of my own wedding rules/rituals/superstitions over the past year. Here a just a few:
- Most of the recipients of the wedding invitations received them exactly a month prior to our wedding.
- I mailed out my wedding invitations from five different post offices to insure proper and timely delivery.
- NO ONE except for the moms are allowed to see my dress prior to the wedding ceremony.
- I have worn the same outfit to all of our vendors meetings and have eaten the same thing after each.
- Any particularly special occasion such as pictures, showers, final appointments, I have worn the wedding colors of yellow and teal.
- I will discuss other people's weddings with limitations and I will not actively participate in other's wedding planning process until after ours.
- Most of the dates we have scheduled for wedding things occur on our wedding dates of the 7th and 12th. If they don't, there is some other significance behind the particular number chosen.
- July 7th will be exactly one year since we got engaged and is Joe's grandmother, Ruth's birthday.
- July 12th is halfway between my birthday and Joe's birthday.
- At the wedding reception, every little thing has a purpose for being there. Most guests won't get it, but I will, and if I believe it makes the feng shui better, then so be it.
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