Yesterday was February 29th, aka Sadie Hawkins Day.  Sadie was the daughter of one of Dogpatch’s earliest settlers, Hekzebiah Hawkins.  When she reached age thirty-five and was still a spinster, according to Wikipedia, her father called together the eligible bachelors of Dogpatch and declared that day to be Sadie Hawkins Day. “When ah fires [my gun] all o' yo' kin start a-runnin,” he said. “When ah fires agin - after givin' yo' a fair start - Sadie starts a runnin'. Th' one she ketches'll be her husband."

Forty-four years (or eleven February 29’s) ago, I was skiing in Lech, Austria with my boyfriend Peter.  Riding up on the chairlift, I reminded him that it was Sadie Hawkins Day, and that meant I could ask him to marry me.  So I asked him.  He turned me down, saying that when he was ready to get married, he would do the asking.

Four months later, he did.  Forty-four years later, I believe it was worth the wait.