Happy Gar Nix? What it's like to have a birthday on February 29th
You can look at everything in life from one side or the other. Fortunately, right from the start, I was served the "glass-is-half-full version" of life. I did not understand pity for my extraordinary date of birth as a child. My parents did not sell that to me as a problem, but as a privilege: "You have already decided on the day of your birth to be special." And with that I could live really well. Only later did I get the quirks of the date.
Just do not get a kid on February 29th
I was born just before midnight, the newspapers had already written that no child was born in our district on Leap Day. A coincidence that there are so few leap day children? Not quite. In fact, there should be mothers who circumvent this day by means of a desired Caesarean section or who initiate the birth beforehand. In my eyes totally crazy! It would not occur to me to give a direction to my child at birth, or even to consider turning it on the date of birth. After all, it's really just a matter of marketing how I sell the child his special date. The only question that is actually a bit annoying for parents is: When do you celebrate in the three years between the one and the next birthday?
No leap year: February 28th or March 1st?
The question in which the minds differ. Every year. Since time immemorial, I am congratulated on both days depending on the congratulatory. And basically with the shy question, if that was so right now. Is not really easy, because everyone keeps somehow different. While some insist on at least their birth month, others find that they do not feel older until the day after. Personally, I belong to the second group and celebrate on March 1st. Incidentally, this is also the legal date in Germany. Legally, when I was of age, I was not allowed to drink vodka until March 1st. For example, in New Zealand, February 28th would be considered my birthday, if there is no 29th again. And also Facebook is, one must congratulate me on the 28th. And Facebook seems to be something like the modern Pope. All congratulations. Even those who knew better without Facebook. So I have even double birthday.
"No birthday, no gift"
It does not matter if we become 35, 51 or 87 this year. We know all the jokes that can be made about the missing birthday long ago by heart. From "No Birthday, No Gift" to "You look older than you are, you poor!" up to "Actually, you do not even exist this year", we really laugh just out of courtesy, because these sayings are worth a Guinness book entry for the longest beard. At least in our life. But it's really amusing to watch the others throw themselves away over their own spell. In that sense, they are somehow funny after all.
I do not have to worry about numbers
My colleague recently told me that she will turn 40 soon. "40th That's an incision," she said. I calculated and realized: That just can not happen to me. I'm only going to turn 40 into well over a hundred years and I'm afraid that I might not experience it, even though I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I intend to become 22 years old. Then I will have three grown children, at best a few grandchildren and great grandchildren and still a lot of gratitude that my parents made me feel special. And that's worth much more than a date of birth that exists every year.
