A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...when I was paid for working, and got vacation days and was skinny and young and cute...I was a flight attendant.
I wore a St. Christopher necklace (the patron saint of travelers), and it became a habit to always wear it when I was flying. Since it appeared to be working (I was never in an accident) I began wearing it all the time.
In my current job of domestic goddess, I still wear my St. Christopher. In fact, I never take it off. There is a kink in the chain and it could probably use a good cleaning, but my St. Christopher is always around my neck.
I drive a lot, you see. Carpool, grocery store, Ballet, Taekwondo...I am in the car a lot. Plus, we travel a lot. On the rare occasions that I change necklaces, I get anxious about putting my St. Christopher back on!
Eventually, I began to wonder if the necklace was enough. So several years ago I got a St. Christopher keychain.
Not that I am superstitious or anything...but...
Then there is Mr. Wonderful. He IS superstitious. Whenever he leaves on a trip, we have a ritual at the front door. He stands in a certain spot, and I have to stand in a certain spot, and I have to say certain words...with a certain inflection and in a specific way. Otherwise, it won't work. If I deviate from his script in any way, we have to start over. If the dog comes and stands next to us...we have to start over. If the kids are in the room, they have to leave and we have to start over. I'm telling you - this is a very, very specific ritual that must be done in a very, very specific way or "something bad might happen."
So I stand in my spot, and he stands in his spot, and I say what I am supposed to say in exactly the way I am supposed to say it.
Who am I to be skeptical or critical? It seems to be working.
My daughter's ritual is to always say "Break a nail" backstage before going on, rather than the cliched "Break a leg."
Again, it seems to work.
So these are our family's superstititions...what are yours? Do you avoid walking under ladders? Are you afraid of black cats? Do you throw salt over your shoulder? Are they habits, or do you really believe they work?
