I have been waiting for Feb. 29, 2016 since March 1, 2012. The life of a leap day baby is a struggle that only .068 percent of the world’s population can understand.
As any “leapling” knows, informing people of your date of birth leads to a flurry of questions.
“Wow! I’ve never met someone born on leap year!”
It’s true… I’m special. Astrologists say that leap day babies have unique talents. I would have to agree.
“Why do we have to add an extra day on the calendar?”
It takes 365.242 days for Earth to orbit the sun, NOT 365. Yes, your first grade science teacher was lying to you. So, every four years, we add one extra day to compensate.
“When do we have a leap year?”
Leap years occur every four years… well, usually. In high school, you were probably taught that it takes 365.25 days for the planet to orbit the sun. Again, your teachers were wrong. After 400 years, the difference between .25 and .242 adds up to be three days. Thus, years that are divisible by 100, such as 1700, 1800 and 1900 do NOT have a leap year. The exception to this rule is when the year is also divisible by 400. That’s why 2000 was in fact a leap year.
For simplicity, just remember that every year we have a presidential election, there is a leap day.
“So, wait, what do you do when you don’t have a birthday?”
Have a party, eat cake, open presents… I don’t need to have an official day on the calendar to celebrate.
“Woah, so you are what, three?”
Well, I was when I was 12, but very close.
“What is the deal with girls proposing on leap year?”
According to Irish tradition, women can propose to a man on leap day. If you want to know more, watch the movie on Netflix. I don’t plan on proposing to someone on leap day… can’t take the chance that I would get rejected on my birthday.
“I would hate having a leap year birthday.”
There was a time when I didn’t like my birthday. In elementary school, the principal would announce the names of those students who had birthdays over the intercom each morning. I always celebrated my birthday on Feb. 28, so that morning I eagerly sat in my seat waiting to hear my name. It was never called. However, I remained optimistic; I assumed that they would announce it on March 1. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I went home in tears that day because to me, it seemed the world had simply forgotten my birthday.
Of course, I still “celebrate” my birthday every year. On Feb. 28, my parents will wish me happy birthday and friends post on my Facebook page. However, I don’t get the feeling of waking and knowing “today is my birthday.”
But, every four years, I get an overwhelming feeling of excitement. And believe me, it’s worth the wait. So, no, I don’t hate my birthday. In fact, I absolutely love it. Every four years, my friends and family go out of their way to make sure that I have a special birthday. Plus, I always have a fun fact ready to go for ice breakers.
To all of my fellow leapers, happy birthday!
And to everyone else, go enjoy your extra day (even if you are paid an annual salary and technically have to work for free…).
