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Monday, February 27, 2012

Extra, Extra! We have an extra day this year!

Isn't Leap Year a peculiar thing? I know, it's a pragmatic solution trying to fit the Earth's rhythms into our own need for regularity, but if we are going to have an extra day every four years, shouldn't it be a day we can spend as we please?

Wherefore, I propose an international floating Leap Year holiday, to be celebrated by each at a time of his/her convenience, in a manner of personal choice. Is there a second?

I think I'm celebrating today, by not requiring myself to seriously dive into the next big work thing just yet. I may blow part of the day with some random cleaning of the drawers and office, but only until that becomes tiresome, thus scoring some virtue points while still winding down from last week.

In antiwhines, we had a wonderful surprise birthday party for my nearby cousin this weekend! Very fun, lots of family + friends, ages 2 months to 73 years. The bossy cousin-in-law was not bossy -- yay! The clan unobtrusively but dedicatedly administered hugs and cheer to a 9 year old cousin after some older girls said mean things to her -- plus we found the fancy cupcakes, so everything was all better.

How are you celebrating Leap Year? What else is going on?

22 comments:

Sue said...

I'll second the Leap Year motion!

I celebrated yesterday at a party for a lovely 90 year old Leap Year Baby (by her own definition). She is a dear friend whose family held a great party for her. She is funny, bright, healthy and full of spunk. If I live to be ninety, I hope I'm as awesome as she is!

AW: I survived another marathon church-people meeting relatively unscathed. A few stressful moments, but I took care of myself.

AW: doc appointment today. Family doc found a med that will work with my present meds without negative side effects. This medication is intended to "turbo boost" the depression meds I'm already on. All that, plus it should start to work within a few weeks. Yay!

kathy a. said...

yay, sue!

esperanza said...

Sue, that sounds so hopeful.

I've got my own 24 hours of church people meetings this weekend. Daddy is going to keep the Baboos, so maybe I'll be able to hang out with friends for once. Or...can I even hope...hang out *by myself* in my hotel room?

Sue said...

Esperanza - the out of town meetings are better than the "still-have-stuff-to-do-at-home" variety. Enjoy yourself!

Sarah at Ratatat said...

I like the floating leap day holiday.

Yay Sue! And I hope the AWs continue.

Esperanza - alone time...ahhh...hope it works out and it is good.

Whine: a little tiny bit of Facebook drama happening IRL. I try to keep FB friendly and drama free and it bugs me that a friend is maligning me to others in a misinterpretation of what I said online. And the big whine is that is is bothering me. I am trying to let it go. And failing. Would it be better to drown it in chocolate or have a good cry?

esperanza said...

Why not both, Sarah?

kathy a. said...

both -- plus, i vote for cluesticks, sarah. it really is frustrating and infuriating when someone misrepresents and attacks that way (and so publicly)!

Anonymous said...

Yay on the meds, Sue.
And, I recommend chocolate cake to Sarah--well, really to everyone!
:)
Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

I think I am getting a cold. :(
Also, my pants are too tight! Darn girl scout cookies!!! (or maybe it's the chocolate cake!)
And they have gotten too tight in the last 3 weeks. seriously.
do bodies change that fast???
apparently.
sigh.
--Neighbor Lady

Sue said...

I vote for both chocolate and crying....

W: Total World-altering Meltdown today for no apparent reason. Proof that when doc says "You may feel a bit worse for a day or two" he knows what he's talking about.

AW: I had planned to stay home today anyway, so the only person freaked out by my freak-out was hubby and he was actually quite cool about it. He just asked what he could do and then left me alone. After a long nap, I'm okay.

Anonymous said...

Many many hugs to you Sue!
--Neighbor Lady

Sarah at ratatat said...

I am running out of dairy-free chocolate. That is a whine, even if it weren't a day when I really would like more chocolate.

Sue - hugs and a shoulder to cry on. Glad the meltdown resolved with a nap.

NL - pants are mysterious things. As are GS cookies. I often wonder if I wore 19th c dresses and aprons if they would be more forgiving of my shape changes. My grandmother (all the way into the 1950s) didn't have maternity clothes - her dresses just adjusted somehow. She couldn't explain it. But when my pants feel tight I think, expanding dresses might be nice. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Expanding dresses sound like just the thing!
:)
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

badly fitting pants are a reason i like dresses! but it's gotten hard to find dresses anymore. i have requirements: not sleeveless; no miniskirts, no ankle-length; no criss-cross bodices; no scrunchy or too-tight or severely belted midsections; no garish or ugly fabric; no lace; no high necks; no pencil skirts; no muumuus; etc. and my proportions are not usual; short arms and legs, do not need to draw attraction to the chest area, sadness in the waistline area -- many opportunities for bad fits. i should probably sew my own, huh?

esperanza said...

Bah. Badly fitting pants. Tried on many, many pairs of jeans today. I would like them to fit, but not be a pair of tights. Is that too much to ask? Bah. Shopping. Blech.

Sue said...

I'm all about expanding clothing! This explains my love of yoga pants for all occasions.

Question: Do salaried workers technically go unpaid on Leap Day? Not that I'm complaining....I'm glad to have a job, but it does make me curious.

W: On this day of Leaping, I had a visit with a family about a baptism. All good, but said family included a VERY loud four year old girl with the classic Little Girl Scream that pierces one's brain matter like a knife through butter. Oy.

Color me cranky, but I don't think the parents heard a word I said about the baptism of their new baby. Nor did they so much as attempt to inquire about the reason for the screaming of child number one. So I pulled out every toy I have in my office, but it didn't much help.

AW: Very cute baby.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Yoga pants are a gift from nature.

Sue - heard a newborn baby cry today and realized how much nicer it is than little kid cry.

W: eating too much, and none of it healthy. One of those stressful days. Slow and steady and what cannot be cured must be endured.

kathy a. said...

oy, sue. how bizarre about ignoring the older child's distress. those were the moments when one of us attended to whatever was going on, and the other took the distressed child for a little walk to calm him/her down. i also used to keep toys and art materials in my office, for emergencies; usually that works...

sarah -- love slow and steady! do you have access to a salad bar? (do they exist much any more?) for some reason, it is lovely to have all these choices in times of stress -- little of this, little of that. soup can go a long way toward comfort without being totally junky, too.

awards tomorrow. i'm continuing to think i've got an extra day! it's like leap week! and am all caught up in a special project close to my heart. plus odds and ends for work.

esperanza said...

I am exhausted from today--we had our consultation with Sweet's new developmental pediatrician. No surprises, really, but it's just overwhelming seeing it all at once. Major recommendation was to delay kindergarten for a year. Anyone have experience with this? Also add an hour of speech and an hour of OT to our week. If we could get a leap day each week, that would be super helpful in making this happen.

AW: both Baboos had a fantastic time with their bff's mama today. (Bff is in seventh grade and sadly had to go to school). Bff's mama also had a great time, despite two potty accidents by Mini. They got to see cows! horses! baby goats! dogs! More cows and rabbits are on tap for tomorrow. Yes, we really do live in the country.

JenR said...

I could whine about being too busy, but I think I would end up doing that every week.

Instead I'll whine about dropping the price of our condo by another $10K, hopefully to get rid of it before a nicer one comes on the market. It's depressing, and I hope we're not making a mistake by choosing to sell now. But a better school district and a yard to play in - that is my goal. A bedroom for the baby would be good too :-)

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh JenR, that's depressing. But I hope it works. Hang in there.

Esperanza - that sort of visit sounds overwhelming. And too cute about the Baboos and their 7th grade BFF and the rural fun!

kathy a. said...

esperanza -- sorry for not posting earlier. i think having sweet start K a year later is a good idea. she has made so much progress catching up, but this will give a bit more cushion for success. it would give her more time to master the skills she is working on. there is such a lot of variation among kids in K, but there is a lot to be said for assessing readiness for such a big step rather than just chronological age. xoxo