It’s the 29th. Leap Day is a strange day that was thrown together by a need to Make Things Fit.

The leap day was introduced as part of the Julian reform. The day following the Terminalia (23 February) was doubled, forming the so-called “bis sextum”. The first day of the bis sextum (February 24) came to be regarded as the intercalated or “bissextile” day. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages. — Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (“We’re Usually Pretty Close to Being Fact!”) also says that today is the one day that Women are allowed to propose to a Man. Seeing that I’m headed to a wedding tomorrow and one of my best friends in the world is having two more kids today, I’m going to try to lay as low as possible so that doesn’t happen to me. But then again:

Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland.

I’m currently low on my supply of silk gowns.

I have a friend that is turning 8 in Leap Years, today. Being born on February 29th, he is officially known as a “leapling”, which is really awesome and I’m jealous — kind of sounds like a race of puppet from The Dark Crystal. Happy birthday, Rob!