Interview With “Leap Year Baby” Lisa Reed
[Written by Randall Lister]
Planning birthday celebrations can be stressful for anyone, but for persons that are “leap year babies”, birthday celebrations bring about even more unique considerations.
Unique considerations, such as: Should they celebrate their birthday every year or only on leap years, or [in the years when it is not a leap year], what date should they celebrate on, or should they have an ever bigger celebration on the years when it is a leap year?
I realized that the best way to get an idea of the experiences of a leap year baby was to ask a leap year baby. So I reached out to my cousin, Mrs. Lisa Reed, a notable leap year baby, to get the answers straight from the source.
Q: Is it correct, that you were born on the date of February 29th?
A: “That’s correct.”
Q: As a leap year baby, do you prefer to only have birthday celebrations on leap years, or do you choose to celebrate your birthday, every year?
A: “I actually celebrate every year, however, when it’s a leap year, those birthday celebrations are uber-special.”
Q: On the years when there are only 28 days in February, what date do you celebrate your birthday on, February 28th or March 1st?
A: “I usually split the day in half, so I will … celebrate from mid-day February 28th until [mid-day March 1st].”
Q: Does switching the date that you celebrate on each year, ever get annoying?
A: “No, I’m definitely used to it now. So by time the beginning of February rolls around, I’m usually starting to think [about arranging my birthday plans for either February 28th or March 1st].”
Q: Still, I assume it must be very refreshing, when a leap year arrives and you can celebrate on your actual birthdate of February 29th?
A: “I would definitely say that on the years [when it is a leap year], that it is super special.”
Q: This year is a leap year, how do you plan to celebrate your birthday, this year?
A: “So instead of it just being a [regular] birthday dinner, [it’s] at my favorite restaurant, Mad Hatter’s, and they have prepared a special menu and it’s all in a leap [year] theme. So there’ll be [a variety of] dishes that have … green [in them]. [The green dishes representing frogs, because frogs leap]. So the menu is specially designed for my birthday, and they’ll have nice entertainment, so yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
Q: I’m curious, do you know if there are any clubs here in Bermuda, that are just for people that were born on leap years? If not, do you think that someone should start one?
A: “I don’t know that anybody has ever had a club [for leap year babies, here in Bermuda]. I’ve only known [about] 2 or 3 other people in Bermuda [that are born on February 29th]. And although it would be cool to have a club, at the same time, I kind of think that people tend to like to do things on their own. So I would imagine that they probably have their own special way of celebrating, as well.”
Q: You are so youthful and vibrant, do you think being born on a leap year is what has kept you so young? Is that your secret fountain of youth?
A: “Ha, Ha, I love that question. I actually do think that’s part of it. For instance, this year [on February 9th, although I am an adult, I am just technically having my official eleventh birthday]. Although my body is one age, I definitely think that I am young at heart, and I think that being born on a leap year helps [with that].”
Q: Are there any other interesting stories that you want to share about being a leap year baby?
A: “What else is interesting is that … in 2008, I turned “9” and in 2009, Jalen [her son] turned 9. So Jalen and I were both 9 at the same time. And then… in 2012, I turned “10” and in 2012, Mia [her daughter] also turned 10.”
Happy Birthday to a beautiful person.
You’re just a big helping of “Awesome Sauce”