2012 is a Leap Year, meaning that an extra day has been added to our calendar – February 29th, or Leap Day.
This date only occurs once every four years, when this extra day is added to correct for the fact that the earth does not actually orbit the sun in precisely 365 days, the length of a typical year. Instead, the earth orbits the sun in approximately 365 and ¼ days, making the addition of a full day every four years necessary to align with our 12-month seasonal calendar. People who are born on February 29th only get to celebrate their birthday on their actual birthday every four years!
This year, I started thinking about the significance of having this extra day. I’m constantly wishing I had “more time” to manage the pressures of school and work, the demands of my volunteer commitments, and my responsibilities to friends and family. Returning to campus today after Reading Week, I could hardly explain how quickly those few days seemed to evaporate, and every Monday morning, without fail, I wake up thinking that all would be right with the world if the weekend were only three days instead of two. And now we have an extra day – a full 24 hours!
Unfortunately, the demands of our lives will continue throughout February 29th, but the occurrence of a Leap Day does allow us to pause and reflect on how we prioritize our time and what we value most. If you could stop time and do anything you wanted to on Leap Day, what would it be? Who would you spend your time with and why? Would you take a risk, or make a ‘leap’?? In answering these questions, perhaps we can all find ways to incorporate these activities and people into our lives throughout the other 365 days of the year.