My Two Writing Teachers colleagues and I are hosting the 13th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge, in which hundreds of teachers participate in posting a story per day.
Dear Kids,
Today is Friday, the 13th. Lots of people say that Friday the 13th brings bad luck. I kinda sorta believe it.
When I was a kid, your Grammy Pammy had all kinds of little superstitions. I don’ t really know how strongly she believed any of them, but she would remind us of them constantly.
Bad things happen in threes.
Kids are sensitive to full moons, and low-pressure weather systems, and act like little monsters when either or both are in effect (Personally, I think this one actually makes a lot of sense, scientifically speaking).
Never walk under a ladder, or someone will break their neck.
Knock on wood for good luck. And while you’re at it cross your fingers and your toes.
Black cats are very bad luck. Not just if they cross your path — even just spotting a black cat can cause bad luck, according to your grandmother.
If you break a mirror you’ll have bad luck for seven years.
NEVER open an umbrella indoors - or else someone will die. With this one, Grammy is actually pretty serious.
When I was a kid, those vending machines at the grocery store used to sell rabbit-foot keychains for a quarter or two. Every time we went to the grocery store my brother (your uncle) and my sister (your aunt) would beg for candy and treats and your Grammy (my mom) would always say no—unless it was a rabbit-foot that we wanted. In that case, she was happy to dole out quarters for each of us.
Looking back, the rabbit-feet were pretty horrifying. They were actual rabbit feet. They were dyed all different colors - pink, green, blue. I guess this was to make them less like an actual body part of dead animal and more like a toy. But at the time, your uncle, aunt, and I had no idea - we just didn’t think about it.
I had a white rabbit-foot for the longest time. I remember having it attached to my backpack for at least one whole school year. I remember holding it my hand, and petting its soft silky fur. I never thought twice about whether it was a real foot or not. It was simply a rabbit-foot. For good luck. (Ew.)
So today, on Friday the 13th, even if I see a rabbit-foot vending machine, I don’t think I’ll be digging out my quarters. I’d rather carry around my four-leaf clover and my lucky coins for the day thank you very much.
Good luck kids, I love you.
Love,
Your Mom