Leap Year

Someone asked me at church last Sunday how old I was. Without hesitation I said 24. I was so embarrassed when I had to correct myself and say, "actually no, that's wrong...I'm turning 28 at the end of this month". We both got a good laugh out of it.

I don't particularly like birthdays. I haven't enjoyed them since I ran out of all the "fun" ones. For me those have included...

• 10- I was so excited to get into the double digits. It felt "older".
• 13- Finally a teenager!
• 16- Duh...DRIVERS LICENSE!
• 18- I became an "adult"... what's not to get excited about?
  
• 20- So excited to be out of my teens!
  
• 21-Need I even explain?
• 22- Somewhere along the way I got it in my head that I was going to get married at the age of 22...and sure enough I was engaged and planning my wedding.
  

My 23rd birthday was when it all went down hill. Nothing particularly bad happened, but that's when it finally occurred to me that I had no more birthdays to look forward to. Yes, I realize anyone reading this is probably rolling their eyes right about now...but it really did hit me hard. Since then, I don't particularly like thinking about the fact that I'm getting older. My family and friends really do go out of their way to make me feel extra special on my birthday, which I really do appreciate, but I always hate the next day when I officially have to start saying that I'm one year older. This year it's 28...which is just weird to me since I obviously still think I'm 24.

Thankfully, there is one redeeming factor about this birthday. I actually have one! Being that I was born on leap year (February 29th), I only get a birthday once every four years. In case you don't know why we even have "leap year", I'll explain it. Leap year is necessary to keep our calendar accurate. It technically takes the earth 365.242199 days to orbit the sun once (one year), yet our calendar only has 365 days. So without adding the extra day every 4 years, we would lose 6 hours a year. That may not seem like such a big deal, but after about 100 years, our calendar would be off by 24 days. Interesting huh?

The first question everyone always asks as soon as they find out I'm a Leap Year baby is: So when do you celebrate when there's no 29th?

• I've always liked celebrating on the 28th because it's still in February which is "my" month. But I'll be honest, I've gotten in the habit of celebrating on the 28th and the 1st :)

Second questions is always: So how old are you really?

• Well...this year I'm turning 7!

Most people will comment something like, "it must be so weird to not have a birthday every year". Ha! It's actually not that bad. When I actually do have a birthday, it typically results in a "extra special" celebration, which means I can honestly say I'm able to remember every "actual" birthday I've ever had in detail...besides birth of course.

So here I am again, about to have a birthday... I'll try and ignore the fact that I'm only two year away from 30 and make it another memorable birthday...

Here's to turning 7!!