Leap

– Do you realise this is for the first leap year since I started this blog?
– I guess they don't come round very often. Rather like Olympic Games or World Cups. Perhaps we should celebrate the extra day we've got? Do something special?
– I suppose it's not really an extra day as such. It's more just making up for the quarter day or so that goes missing every year, which is otherwise awkward to keep track of. So really you're losing a bit of time in most years, and then jumping head to catch up in a leap year.
– It all seems a bit ad hoc.
– And then there are leap seconds.
– I'm not sure I care so much about them. They sort of get lost in the general inaccuracy of my various watches and clocks. They tend to be out by a few minutes at the best of times, so a second here or there is not such a big deal. And you can't do much in an extra second, whereas a day every four years is quite significant. You can do a lot in a day, especially if you remember to get up early.
– By the way, did you get proposed to today?
– No. Should I have?
– I think it happens on leap days. Ladies propose to men, especially those who don't seem to be taking the hint the rest of the year.
– Well, I've managed to get through the day unscathed.
– There is still time.
– Not if I switch off my phone.