Hello everyone! And welcome to the day that only exists once every four years. Oh yes. Today is Leap Day. Leap Day is one of the more exciting days of the year (when it exists, that is). It is a rare breed day. One with a little boldness and character to it. Even Christmas, a rather enjoyable holiday in my book, happens every single year. But as exciting as it is to wake up and realize it’s Christmas morning, you get to do that four times more often in life than waking up to realize it’s Leap Day. Today is special indeed.
Proof that this actually exists. A quality college student meal. I mix a can of green beans with mine so I feel better about what I'm eating.
Think of it this way: if your favorite food is Spaghetti Rings Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (this is Fareway brand SpaghettiO’s for those of you who didn’t put that together. This is a legitimate thing. I buy it because of its name. Brilliant marketing.) … If your favorite food is Spaghetti Rings Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, regardless of how deeply you love it, you do not eat it every day. If you ate your favorite food every single day, you would quickly be sick of it and it would no longer be your favorite food. Much in the same way, if you had your favorite day of the year every single year, would it not quickly become old news? Leap Day is like Spaghetti Rings Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. You only want to ingest so much of it in a given period of time (probably once every four years is enough).
The fact that Leap Day hangs out in a corner of non-existence for three years in a row and then decides to step forth boldly and proclaim itself an equal is, I would argue, a rather impressive feat. It’s like the kid who just picks up the bagpipe and plays it without having to practice. We have to pay our dues and practice that bagpipe on a regular basis. We all hate the perfect bagpipe kid because he doesn’t even have to try, yet we all wish we could be him (because he doesn’t even have to try). Leap Day doesn’t have to try, or even regularly show up to practice, to adorn a kilt and play with the rest. It’s like the child prodigy of days.
Leap Day holds value beyond being the most infrequent day of the year. It is the great orange spot in my synesthetic calendar. The day that always makes me think of frogs. Leap Day means that this year is divisible by four (so satisfying). It reminds me that the summer Olympics are coming! And lastly, it means a number of little four-year olds, all over the world are having their first birthday. Welcome to birthdays little kids, welcome.
My point is, I hope you all can appreciate this day for what it’s worth. Some might say it’s just another day, but actually it is the accumulation of the extra fourth of a day that we travel around the sun each year. There would be 365.25 days in a year without Leap Day’s help. Thank you, Leap Day, for keeping us sane.
Enjoy yours.
I absolutely love the bagpipe kid analogy!!
I feel the same way when the 7-year or 12-year cicadas come out–what an exceptional insect to be hidden for years and then suddenly appear!