The 'leaplings': People born on Feb. 29 will celebrate big-time this year

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then it stands to reason that astronomical scarcity makes the birthday party bigger, as individuals born on Feb. 29 can attest.

These so-called "leapers," "leaplings" or just "Leap Day babies" only have actual "birthdays" every four years, and as such often are made to compensate.

Tomorrow, Debby Jackson-Moore's son Ian will celebrate his birthday on the 29th for the first time since his actual birth.

She said he's too young to truly understand the concept of Leap Year, but at 3-going-on-4, he's plenty old enough to know what birthdays are -- and he's pumped.

"He's really excited about it," she said. "We've told him that he has a very special birthday, but he doesn't understand yet."

Ian Moore holds invitations to his "PAW Patrol" birthday party.Submitted by Debby Jackson-Moore

She said they never anticipated having a Leap Day baby, as her original due date was March 31. Her husband was hoping for an April Fools' Day baby, but Ian arrived nearly a month earlier than expected.

Perhaps they shouldn't have been so surprised, as the family already had two other leaplings, so he's got good company. They told themselves they wouldn't be parents who made the Leap Day celebration into a big ordeal, but once Ian came along, that changed.

"We have had to rethink [the celebrations], since he only has one every four years," Jackson-Moore said. "Big party. Big cake. Big fun!"

This year's theme is Ian's current obsession: "PAW Patrol," the popular children's TV program.

While Leap Day babies aren't common, Ian does share the birthday with several pop culture figures, including Tony Robbins and Ja Rule. He also shares the date with fellow area resident and "14-year-old" Jay Seabaugh.

Seabaugh said he was able to really grasp the concept of Leap Year the second time around, when he turned 8 in conventional years.

"It's a lot of fun, actually," he said. "You get a lot of ribbing from folks. A lot of jokes."

Admittedly, most are of the lame-dad-joke variety.

"I still get a lot of teasing about how my wife robbed the cradle and all that," he said, but he does enjoy the attention from friends and family.

"Usually, we'll have a big family dinner and a big cookout, which is what we've got planned for the weekend," he said. "They tried to get me with surprise parties every year, every Leap Year, but that doesn't work too good anymore."

Born in 1960, Seabaugh said he knows how to spot them coming by now.

"Unless they can get me this time," he said.

Seabaugh said he has only met a couple other people who are born on in a Leap Year - pretty much a woman he went to school with, and that’s it. But that just means more celebration for him, and the thought of still being a "teenager" lets him stay young at heart. Last time the 29th rolled around, everyone played "pin the tail on the donkey," for example.

And there exists plenty of superstition and tradition around the elusive 29th. Leap Day is commonly associated with with the idea that the stars are in alignment for especially bold endeavors, hence the "leap." And the most famous tradition dates back to Ireland during the time of St. Patrick, and dictates that on Leap Day, gender roles are reversed and young maidens are permitted to propose marriage.

Jackson-Moore said she's noticed a peculiar tradition of her own regarding how friends and family try to wish her son a happy birthday.

"I think it's funny when you have a child on a Leap Day," she said. "People call on Feb. 28. And people call on midnight. It really didn't sink in until we had another child with a regular birthday. ... It's a day that doesn't exist and people don't understand that; it's your special day."

During off years, Jackson-Moore and Seabaugh said they make do with the closest day, sometimes early, sometimes late, and sometimes just one long multi-day celebration.

"We've just celebrated on whatever day's closest," Jackson-Moore said. "He has [a birthday] and he can see it on the calendar this year, but next year will be interesting."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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