It’s Leap Day. A whole extra bonus day! And, yet, it doesn’t feel that way. Here I am finishing my newsletter instead of doing something unusual on this gift we receive only once every four years. Why? Because I didn’t recognize the gift, protect it, and plan ahead to savor it. I could have made this a celebratory day shared with good friends. I didn’t. There is an important lesson in this.

Have you ever received a gift of money with no immediate purpose and then squirreled that cash away somehow to protect it from the daily expenditures so you could save it for something special? I know I have. Money deposited in a checking account that covers daily expenses tends to disappear before we know it. Money saved in a separate account, or even the proverbial coffee can, can be protected from this erosion. I do this with travel money. It goes in a separate account and I refuse to use it for anything else. Protecting vacation money is very important to me.

Time is even more precious than money because we can never make more of it. Gifts of time, whether Leap Days, vacation days, or anniversaries need to be protected with great intention, planning, and subsequent indulgence. My husband and I celebrate several traditions each year in addition to our anniversary and family birthdays. We make a neighborhood bonfire with our Christmas wreaths on the Spring Equinox. We celebrate the Summer Solstice with a barbecue. We even celebrate the anniversary of our most recent move because it has brought us so much joy. As a matter of fact, our second annual Tour de Peterborough is coming soon. Sort of like a progressive dinner, we will hit all our favorite shops and restaurants in a single day with friends and neighbors joining us for some or all of the visits. Lunch spot, ice cream shop, bowling alley, brewery, dinner, dessert, Irish coffee – with shops, parks, and other venues sprinkled in between. Traditions and celebrations protect your precious time.

Even bonus hours should be protected. Don’t let the hour you save by canceling an unproductive meeting disappear before you know it. Tasks expand to fill all available time. Don’t let them. Save an hour, go home an hour early and use it to take care of yourself and/or your family.

Finish a big project several days early, take a day off for something you’ve been dying to do.

Life is short. Don’t let time disappear. Be intentional. Plan ahead. Create, protect, and savor special days and bonus hours as the splendid gifts they are.

I hope you have a fabulous March and are already looking forward to several special days so March doesn’t slip away unnoticed.