Leap Day! That quadrennial quirk of our time-marking system — rendering the shortest month a little less short and making winter seem a LOT longer — is upon us.
But we shouldn’t complain about more days on the calendar. It’s a gift, really, these extra 24 hours that open wide the doors to experiences and activities that would be unthinkable in a normal 8,760-hour span.
Activities like The Community Revue that hits The Community House stage tomorrow and Saturday, for example. How many times over the last few decades have you said to yourself, “I’m so down for a hilarious send-up of my community’s behavioral tendencies as depicted by my talented neighbors, but I just don’t have the time to spare.”
Well, now you do. Thank you, uh, astronomical rotational weirdness!
Those with loved ones or acquaintances born on a Leap Day should be sure to offer the proper birthday wish. Anyone turning 60, for example, should be congratulated with a “Happy 15th!”
Leap years, according to timeanddate.com, were first introduced more than 2000 years ago by Roman general Julius Caesar. The Julian calendar, which was named for him, stipulated that an extra day be added to the calendar every four years by rule. But because the tropical year is slightly less than six hours longer than the common years, this formula produced too many leap years, causing a calendar drift of one day every 128 years. This was not corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later, when a number of days were skipped to realign our calendar with the seasons.
All that to say: Let’s Leap! When was the last time you checked in with that New Year’s Resolution? This is perfect time to leap back in to that regimen. The village’s parks are great environs for a late-winter fitness walk, whether the conditions call for boots or not. And once you’ve worked up a appetite, pick out a village eatery, or eateries, you plan to patronize beginning Sunday during Hinsdale Restaurant Week March 1-8 (see Page 17 & 18 for details).
Leap Day makes the a perfect day to celebrate kangaroos with a visit to the Brookfield Zoo. And kids can leap into a new reading experience by selecting the book to read for Story Stroll at the Hinsdale Public Library every Sunday starting March 1. Finish the stroll through the youth and young adult services department and receive a small prize.
This Saturday is also a chance to check out the cool programs offered by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. That includes the 90-minute Restoration-in-Progress tours offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Mayslake Peabody Estate, and the dizzying array of history-celebrating opportunities at Kline Creek Farm in West Chicago — namely the farmhouse museum tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the blacksmithing demonstrations from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and farm life in winter from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
So get the jump on Leap Day with something special to commemorate the special day — and feel free to skip work and school to do it.
