Happy Leap Day! It’s February 29. The odd day that crops up every four years to make sure we plant our crops in the right season.

There have been around 66 leap years since we adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. That means if there were no leap years, we would be 66 days behind. That would make today December 19th and we’d be wishing one another a Merry Christmas.

Some interesting traditions are associated with leap day. Women are allowed to propose marriage (and there were penalties if the man said, “no,” like giving the lady a dozen pairs of gloves. That’s a fair exchange for a husband.). And some cultures consider the day bad luck–kind of a less frequent Friday the 13th.

I think Leap Day should be a national holiday. A sort of free day to do with as you please. Which made me think, what would please me? A whole day for FREE . . . Here’s what I would do.

Get up and have breakfast. Pile the dishes in the sink. Read for a while. Have a snack. Write if I felt like it. Have lunch. Take a walk with Thistle–not too strenuous–and then read some more. Have a snack while watching HGTV and thinking about how I’d like to redo the kitchen cabinets, but probably won’t. Read and/or write in a pool of sunshine until suppertime. Eat supper. Watch the newest episode of Downton Abbey, which would miraculously be on. Read some more while taking a bubble bath. Go to bed.

It’s not noble. It’s not edifying. It’s not beneficial to anyone else. But doesn’t it sound lovely?

What would you do with a completely FREE day?