LEAP DAY

Leap Day babies say birthday has perks

Having a birthday once every four years isn't as bad as it sounds. At least that's what Leap Day babies say.

BY JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA

jmooney@MiamiHerald.com

All Andrea Marcus wants for her 12th birthday is to sip martinis, design handbags and gossip with her girlfriends.

Seem inappropriate? Illegal, even?

It's not.

Marcus is a ''leapling'' -- someone born on Leap Day.

Even though it's only her 12th official birthday because Leap Day happens once every four years, she's actually turning 48.

''Every four years, we have the Olympics, the presidential election and my birthday,'' said Marcus, a Weston homemaker who flew to New York on Tuesday to attend a taping of The Martha Stewart Show featuring an audience of 164 people born on Leap Day. ``That's pretty cool.''

About four million people worldwide share the Feb. 29 birthday, according to the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, an Internet-based birthday club with an online registry of more than 5,800 people born on Leap Day.

One of the site's creators, Raenell Dawn, says she would never trade her ''unique'' birthday -- Feb. 29, 1960 -- but there are some downsides to it.

Dawn, who calls herself a Leap Day Baby activist, says some leaplings are confronted with legal issues because of their uncommon birthday.

One man born on Feb. 29 was accused of having a fake ID because his birthday and the expiration date on his driver's license didn't match, Dawn said.

Another concern of hers is doctors who try to convince parents of babies born on Feb. 29 to change the date on their child's birth certificate to Feb. 28 or March 1.

''The biggest misconception is that we suffer and don't get a birthday,'' she said. ``But when it's not a Leap Year, every day of the year is open to us.''

Though it might seem like adding another day to the calendar every four years is done to confuse people, there is a scientific explanation.

''The reason Leap Day is put in is to make sure that our calendar stays in tune with the seasons,'' said Jack Horkheimer, planetarium director of the Miami Science Museum.

The quirky date even attracts some couples tying the knot.

High school sweethearts Elisa Melendez, 22, and Evan Lamb, 23, are getting married on Leap Day. They will celebrate during a reception in a friend's Southwest Miami-Dade backyard, where about 60 guests will dine on Shorty's Bar-B-Q and a colorful Super Mario Bros.-themed wedding cake.

Choosing the perfect date was easy, said Melendez, a graduate student at Lesley University in Massachusetts.

''We're sort of a weird, unconventional couple,'' she said. ``So when we saw Leap Day was on a Friday this year, we knew we had to do it then.''

And what about having a wedding anniversary once every four years?

The West Kendall couple has it all figured out.

On non-Leap years, they'll do something small.

Then, on their actual anniversary they'll travel or go see a show or concert.

''It's perfect,'' she said. ``And it's easy to remember.''

For Vanessa Herrero, being a Leap Day baby has always had its perks.

''When it's not a Leap Year, I always celebrate my birthday twice -- on Feb. 28 and March 1,'' said Herrero, who was born in 1980. ``And when it is a Leap Year, we go all-out.''

Her D.O.B. is also an attention-grabber.

Even though Herrero is 28 years old, she often tells people her ''other'' age.

''Technically, I'm 7,'' said Herrero, a quality control specialist at the YMCA of Greater Miami. ``Most people laugh it off. Some people play along.''

That's true at the Publix bakery, where Herrero shows her driver's license and is often given a free chocolate chip cookie -- just like all children.

Sometimes, she even orders off the kid's menu at restaurants.

''Leap Day is the day of eternal youth,'' she said. ``I'm a big kid, so being born on that day fits me perfectly.''