men’s two-tone wedding bandTo those who are superstitious, thirteen is a number to be feared, but I’ve never felt luckier — today marks our 13th wedding anniversary!

We played Mary Chapin Carpenter’s "Grow Old With Me" during our wedding ceremony and those opening lines, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be..." have never, ever ceased to be true.   These have, without question, been the most amazing, eventful, rewarding, & blessed years and I continue to eagerly anticipate whatever comes next...

And I discovered that there are quite a few interesting things associated with the number 13:
  • The American flag has thirteen horizontal stripes, six white ones & seven red ones, to commemorate the 13 colonies that originally formed the United States.
  • Considered a special number in Pakistan, 13 is tera in Punjabi, which means "yours" (as in, "I am yours, O Lord").
  • NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino both wore number 13.
  • The expression "baker’s dozen" dates back to 13th century England where bakers would give an extra loaf when selling a dozen to avoid being penalized for selling short weight.
  • There’s a formally-recognized phobia for those who dread the number 13: Triskaidekaphobia.
  • A mid-mission technical malfunction (explosion of an oxygen tank) forced the Apollo 13 lunar landing to be aborted on April 13, 1970 — 39 years ago (39÷3=13).
  • There were thirteen participants at the Last Supper, with Judas Iscariot (the disciple who betrayed Jesus) believed to have been the 13th to sit at the table.