Today is
the leap day of 2008.
That
means we have 366
opportunities this year
to see the sun rise or
set, an extra day to
earn money, have a day
of leisure or find
romance. (Ladies, let’s
remember this date is
also known as Sadie
Hawkins Day — you may
ask for your boyfriend’s
hand in marriage.)
Regardless of how common
or uncommon this year
might be, stop to think
for a moment how many
people you know who have
a birthday only on leap
day. Statistics say that
there were 9,792 babies
born on Feb. 29, 1988,
in the United States.
My son
happened to be one of
them.
I
remember the morning was
cloudy and cold, but I
didn’t care. I was going
to be a mommy, finally!
My (now ex) husband and
I had known for several
months that we were
having a boy.
I had
known, as only a mother
who trusts her intuition
can, that my son would
be born as a leap day
baby, even though our
doctor had given us a
due date of Feb. 15.
I have
worried over the years
that my son would feel
cheated as he grew older
and had a birthday only
once every four years,
so it is with interest
that I chatted with him
as well as other area
leap year babies for
this year’s leap day.
Logistics
question
There
are about 200,000 babies
born on leap day living
in the United States.
Worldwide, the number is
4.1 million.
Becky
Janzen, service
coordinator for Prairie
Commons Apartments, is
one of those.
Janzen
is a member of the
Honor Society of Leap
Year Babies.
She was born in Wichita
and made the cover of
The Wichita Eagle when
she was 4 — her first
real birthday — because
of her unique birth
date. Janzen says that
having a leap birthday
is “a little special,”
and she remembers her
16th birthday in
particular as being a
very big party.
“Having an actual
birthday, turning 16,
and having a party with
my girlfriends was
something I have always
remembered,” she says.
Janzen
questions why Leap Day
isn’t marked as such on
calendars — the rare
date is listed simply as
Feb. 29.
“There
is a Groundhog Day, Flag
Day, First Day of Spring
— all of them are marked
as such on the calendar,
so it would be nice if
Leap Year Day was listed
on it,” she says.
My
son, Scott Shreders, is
a student at Kansas
University and an
employee of the Eldridge
Hotel. He says the neat
thing about having a
Leap Year birthday is it
is so rare.
“I
never give much thought
about my birthday until
it comes around, or
until I fill out
employment documents,”
he says. “First, people
are a bit shocked when
they learn of my birth
date, and then they ask
me the inevitable
question of how old I
really am, or make a
comment about how tall I
am for a 4-year-old.”
(Scott
is 6 feet 5 inches
tall.)
When
to celebrate birthdays
that don’t fall during
Leap Years is a point of
contention for Leap Day
families.
Piper
Seetin, born to Travis
Seetin and Melissa Irwin
of Lawrence in 2000,
celebrated her first
birthday on March 1,
Irwin says, “since that
would have been the
calendar date had it not
been a leap year.
But
Janzen and Shreders are
strict Februarians,
people who celebrate
their birthdays in
February.
“I
always want to celebrate
the 28th of February,”
Shreders says, “because
it would be a day
earlier than having to
wait until March 1,
which is when my mom
wants me to celebrate.
Who wants to wait an
extra day, especially
when you are a kid?”
(After
all these years, I
finally get it. I guess
I should have just asked
you before!)
One
thing they all agree on
is that having a Leap
Year birthday is special
and that the year of
their actual birth date
makes for a bigger party
than for the other
years.
Shreders, who lives at
Tau Kappa Epsilon
fraternity at KU, is
happy that his birthday
falls on Friday this
year, but he adds: “It
is unfortunate that this
is just my 20th birthday
instead of my 21st.”
He
should be pleased,
though. Shreders will be
surprised by the arrival
of his uncle from
Indianapolis, his aunt
from Tampa, Fla., a
special package sent
from Iraq from another
uncle and a basketball
signed by KU basketball
coach Bill Self. I guess
I am still trying to
make it up to Scott for
giving him a
once-every-four-year
birthday.
Janzen
says she’s taken
advantage of the
once-every-four-years
birthday, too.
“I
generally have a bigger
party on Leap Year,” she
says. “Some restaurants
will give you a free
meal, but other years
they won’t give you one
for your birthday
because it doesn’t fall
on any given day.”
Likewise, there’s a
point of frustration for
Janzen: “Sometimes, when
you try to enter 2-29
into the computer, it
will be kicked back out
as nonexistent, and I
have to e-mail the
company asking them to
have it fixed.”
Anyway, happy birthday
to Scott, Becky, Piper
and all of the other
Leap Day babies. I hope
none of you hold it
against your mothers for
giving you this rare,
but special birthday.
I
assure you — we meant
well.
