By LOTTE REITER

All birthdays are special, but there’s something extraordinary about the people preparing to celebrate their birthday on Saturday.

The day, February 29, is the extra day of the leap year, and only rolls around once every four years.

As a result, the chance of being born on this day is slim – slimmer than perhaps a more regularly occurring September 23 or March 4 birthday, for example. 

But it is possible, and Horsham girls Ayva Robertson and Jaydah Pitt are among those to share the unique birth date.

Ayva and Jaydah were both born in Horsham on February 29, 2008, meaning they will celebrate their 12th – or 3rd – birthday this weekend.

Arriving at Wimmera Base Hospital at 5am and 9.30am respectively, the girls were unaware they would reunite years later when they started playing on the same team at Horsham Lawn Tennis Club. The girls were quick to become friends.

Ayva’s mum, Mel Robertson, said she thought it was a special occurrence.

“Ayva was due on February 23, so she was a late baby, but I remember thinking it was quite bizarre going into the hospital and hearing that other people were all coming in at the same time to have their babies,” she said.

“Jaydah’s mum and I didn’t know each other before then. 

“We would have seen each other the day the girls were born, but we only really knew of each other when the girls started playing tennis.

“I think it’s special and a good conversation. I love telling people I have a leap year baby. But I think it’s just another birthday for Ayva.”

The girls represent Horsham Lawn Tennis Club in section two of Central Wimmera Tennis Association competition, and will see each other on court on Saturday, before having individual parties later on in the day.

Mrs Robertson and Jaydah’s mum Bobbie Pitt said though the opportunity to celebrate on their daughters’ actual birthday came only every four years, their families never did anything too out of the ordinary.

All other years, though, when the option of choosing to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 comes into discussion, the mothers had different approaches.

Mrs Robertson said they would normally mark Ayva’s birthday on February 28, because ‘she’s born in February, not March.’

Mrs Pitt, however, said their family let the date float around the calendar each year.

“We sort of just do whatever suits really,” she said. “We’ll do something on the day that falls closer to the weekend – we don’t really pick a specific day each year. It is still pretty special though.”

A February 29 birthday might also have its potential inconveniences, minus the jokes and four-year waiting blocks.

Mrs Robertson and Mrs Pitt said that when it came to their daughters turning 18, which will occur on a non-leap-year year, they will have to wait until March 1 before they are legally of age.

“I don’t think it bothers Ayva so much now, but she might be pretty eager to get out to the pubs when it rolls around,” Mrs Robertson joked.

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The entire February 26,, 2019 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!