What Will You Do With Your Extra Day?

Lest we forget, 2024 is a Leap Year. We are getting an ‘extra day’, February 29th, or a 13th month, as some refer to it. Why? you ask. An astronomical year lasts slightly less than 365.25 days. The historic Julian calendar has three common years of 365 days followed by a leap year of 366 days, by extending February to 29 days rather than the common 28, the 366th day (or 13th month) is added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or seasonal year.

So, we all have an ‘extra day’ that we may consciously recognize and plan for, or… just forget about it and go on as normal. I think I will try to do something meaningful on the 29th which is a Thursday. But what?

I went to the internet to see what suggestions were being proposed for things to do on the 29th. There were several lists of 29 Things to Do on the 29th. The one I liked was the one that broke the activities into broader categories…. Get Physical (do something physical), Get Smarter (read or study something), Be Kinder (do something for others), Get Creative (do something different), Improve Your Mental Health (your choice) or just Enjoy Life (do something you enjoy doing but often don’t have the time for). 

We live in a ‘GO GO’ world that often has us doing more and enjoying life less. I am one of its ‘victims’, so to speak, or at least I allow myself to be. So… on the 29th, I am going to book no meetings or calls and I am going to take it as a ‘mental health’ day, a day to Enjoy Life, a day different from my other normal Thursdays. I plan to be intentional about it and not let it be just ‘another day’.

I suggest that whatever you choose to do on Feb 29th, do it intentionally. Let it be the day you want it to be. Don’t wake up without a plan for the day. We only have so many days on this earth…we can take charge of the 29th of February as an “extra” day we only get every four years. It might even be a good day to thank God for our many blessings and for the fellowship of this congregation at FPCV. ENJOY!

Jim Hubbard