This year lets take time to celebrate the day that wasn’t. February 29th is not on our calendar this year, unfortunately. The day is surrounded by an air of sadness. It’s like the friend you always make plans with but you know you will never follow through.

When a friend told me to make plans for next Tuesday, I had to take a step back. I found myself jotting down the 29th. I literally scoffed in disgust. Not only is February the shortest of the months but it has a disappearing day. 

It only comes once every four years because of the way in which earth orbits. It doesn’t take 365 days for the earth to travel around the sun but 365 days, five hours, and twenty minutes.  When added up together over four years, the stray hours equal one day. To make up for the lost time, astronomers and calendar enthusiasts include an extra day on the skimpiest month.

Think of the poor slobs born on the 29th. I plan months in advance for my big day. They have to make due with the scraps of surrounding days, for three years until their day finally rematerializes. I’m sure many woman have tricked their bodies out of labor to avoid the shame of having a leap year baby. Being born on this means having a lifetime of slim pickings. One can only look to the celebrities born on this day, Ja Rule and Antonio Sabato Jr. Unless you have an unchecked affinity for Murder Inc. or The Bold and the Beautiful,  there is really little to celebrate.

While it would have only been a Tuesday, we still cherish the memory of our beloved February 29th. To mourn the lost day, make plans for the next February 29th, occurring 2012.