原題：how leap year babies celebrate their birthdays
作者：Rachel Wise
“今天是我的第七個生日！”這句話從一個成年女性口中說出，你或許會充滿疑惑。但無論如何，我就要28歲啦！
This year will mark my seventh birthday.You may find that statement confusing, given that I’m an adult woman. But nevertheless I’ll be turning 28 years old on Feb. 29—a leap day.
能有此“殊榮”的概率大約是1/1461.那就是一百萬人里的684個，在美國有20萬人的生日是2月29日，全世界也才不到500萬人。
the odds of bearing this distinctive honor is around one in 1,461.
“It’s about 684 in a million,” . “There are about 200,000 in the United States and just under 5 million worldwide.”
這就意味著我們這些閏年寶寶有一種因稀缺而油然而生對的特殊感，并且每隔四年我們都會舉行一場盛大的party。
This means that while my fellow leap babies and I are a small enough group to maintain a feeling of exclusivity, we’re also large enough to spark a healthy community dialogue.
聚會中一旦我們打開了話匣子，我們就會發現每個人原以為十分個人化的窘境就變得十分普遍。其中常常被涉及的話題就是平年（非閏年）時我們選擇在哪一天過生日。
And once we get to talking, it’s evident that many of our individual struggles are really quite universal. One of the topics frequently discussed is which day leap babies should use to celebrate their birthday on off-years.
一些人認為2月份的最后一天最為接近2月29日，所以他們選擇在2月28日慶生。另一些人則認為，他們應該在3月1日過生日，因為他們真正的生日是在2月28日的后一天。
Some opt for Feb. 28, saying the last day of February is most accurate, while others insist March 1 is more correct because they were born the day
following Feb. 28.
之后出現了一種新的觀點，即決定因素在于出生當天的時間。如果你是早上生的，那么你就在平年的2月28日過小生日，反之如果在下午生的，那就在平年的3月1日過小生日。
Then there’s the camp that believes time of day is the determining factor—if you were born in the morning, the 28th is yours, but if you were delivered past noon, it’s the 1st.
但我們聚在一起討論最激烈的話題還是每個人都不可避免的“系統填表問題”。
官僚主義的繁文縟節是我們每個閏年寶寶心中的夢魘。
But by far the most popular topic of conversation among leaplings is the bureaucratic problems we all inevitably face. This red-tape nightmare can take many forms.
有時會遇到一些小問題：我們有時不能在下拉列表里勾選自己的生日，多年來臉書（facebook）也一直沒有給我們發過生日祝福。
Sometimes it’s as small as not being able to select our birth date from a drop-down menu online—or those several years when Facebook didn’t acknowledge we had a birthday.
但有時問題則沒那么輕松：例如處理一些不準確的官方文件。所有的閏年寶寶都會度過人生的兩大里程碑，但遺憾的是18歲生日和21歲生日（在美國，青少年直到21歲時才被準許抽煙喝酒）都是在平年。美國政府一直以來都想不出合理的辦法解決這個問題，我年輕那會兒，我在弗羅里達的駕照寫著我真正的生日，但它的過期日期卻標注著“有效期至2009年2月29日”，很明顯這個日子其實是不存在的。
Often it’s more substantial, like dealing with inaccurate legal documents.
And all modern leap babies have to navigate these snafus for two milestones. Both our 18th and 21st birthdays fall on off-years, and US states have historically struggled to figure out a workable solution. When I was younger, my driver’s license in Florida listed my real birthday, but it also read “under 21 until 2/29/2009,” a date that didn’t actually exist.
“我認識的一個閏年寶寶，他身份證上寫著的生日是2月28日，但他的駕照上卻寫著3月1日”，多恩說道，“在文件上根本沒有2月29日這個日期?！?/p>
“There’s one leapling I talked to whose birthday certificate says February 28 and her license says March 1,” Dawn said. “February 29 isn’t listed on either document.”
但是除了這些偶爾的麻煩事，我認為所有的閏年寶寶都應有著出生獨特帶來的自豪感。許多人說這使他們感到特殊，更別提每四年一次的超級生日party了。閏年寶寶們鐘情于聲稱我們內在永遠年輕~
But despite the occasional headache, I think all leap babies derive a certain pride from their semi-unique status. Many people say it makes them feel special, not to mention enabling them to go all out celebrating those rare “real” birthdays. Leap babies are also fond of claiming that we’re inherently young at heart.
我的媽媽也經常給我這樣的慰藉，有那么一天我會想到感謝我的母親，在40歲生日那天早晨，我可以發自內心對這個世界說道，我今天才十歲噢！
My mom always offered me the same consolation, telling me that I’d thank her one day–on the morning when I can truthfully tell the world I’m only 10 instead of 40.
