Contemplating the number 5

I feel a bit like Ernie from Sesame Street this morning. But I am contemplating the number 5.

Five is a good number. Solid. Upstanding. It is right there in the middle of the numbers we first learn to count. When you are small and learning, counting to 5 is big (counting to 10 is bigger but for the purposes of this story way less important).

5 is the third prime number. In mathematics, a prime number (or a prime) is a natural number which has exactly two distinct natural number divisors: 1 and itself. Apparently this matters. It at least gives rise to this interesting article. OK, it would be interesting if I was still in school with an agile mind and an interest in math.

Back to 5. When you are little, 5 is a very important number. 5 is when you get to go to school for the first time. Maybe this extreme pleasure of childhood has been diluted somewhat by preschools and pre- kindergartens, but I still have never met a 4 year old who didn't know 5 was a very big number in a kids life.

The 5th element on the Periodic Table of Elements is Boron, which has the most versatile name. Who has not occasionally thought ' what a boron that guy is' while driving and seeing someone in front of you do something really stupid.

The Fifth Element was also a movie I really enjoyed. Pure stupid escapism with a really memorable Diva scene and a song that must be one of the all time best Sci-fi movie songs.

The first time the number 5 shows up in the calendar this year is a Saturday, one of the all time great days of the week.

And this year for the first time in my life, 5 is at the front of the digits which state my age, rather than its usual position in the second slot. Yup. The big 50.

I'm not bothered by the number of my age at all. Its kind of neat because I remember the year my mom turned 50(I probably forgot to wish her a happy birthday). I remember thinking whoa, 50. It was hard to believe that was her age (she was then and still is younger than springtime to me), and now I am there.

And you know what? I still feel the same. Whoa. How did this happen? WHEN did this happen? Did I miss anything? If I did, I'd have probably forgotten it by now anyway. There is some comfort in that.

The fact that I was 30 never bothered me, or 40, and not 50. What bothers me far more is that my little sister will be 40 this year. I'd have talked to my mother about that 40 years ago, if I'd have known my baby sister would, like, get old. It's just so wrong.

As for me, I intend to rush through my work a bit today and see if I can't get out of here by 3. I'd like to go over to my LYS, and see what they have in stock for needles before I buy. And maybe some birthday yarn. Or a ball winder. They may be picked over a little from all the heavy holiday shopping, but I am sure that they will have something I absolutely must have once I get there.

My friend Mostlylurking said in the comments yesterday "I've gotten to the point where I can resist the yarn, but I walk out the door with $30 worth of needles. So much better than what I was used to!" I feel exactly the same, only I'm not strong enough to resist the yarn yet.

Which totally explains how stopping at Micheal's to look for one measly kind of small needle meant I went home with a cookbook and 3 skeins of Kroy in what I think is the Crayon Jacquard and nary a needle in the bag.

I am getting myself a birthday present of some of those Signature Needles, but only if I get out of my LYS without having a yarn accident.