What Happens When You Realize that Your Birthday is Not on the Calendar?

After only 11 birthdays, Tamela (Vaughn) Greeley has accomplished quite a bit.

Tamela lives in New Enterprise near her mother, Arvilla Miller, and works for Appvion. She lives there with her husband and two children.

Wait. What?

Tamela will be 44 years old on Saturday, Feb. 29, but this will only be her eleventh birthday. She’s a leap year baby – a bicentennial leap year baby – the first bicentennial leap year baby born in Erie, Pa., in 1976.

Being a leap-year baby, sometimes called a “leapling,” is a big deal, until you become old enough to realize that your birthday doesn’t appear on the calendar every year.

“Tamela was about 6 years old when she realized that her birthday wasn’t on the calendar,” her mother said.

It was also around that age that Greeley began negotiating extra days to celebrate. Since her birth month was February some sort of something had to happen in February, Miller said.

There was also the idea that she was born on the day after the 28th, so there should be some sort of celebration on March 1, too.

It wasn’t an issue at the time, but Tamela’s very first birthday gift was her brother Robert.

Robert Vaughn was born on Feb. 24, 1977. He was brought home from the hospital on March 1, which was Tamela’s first birthday, depending on how you look at it.

Tamela’s fate was sealed. She would forever share her birthday with her baby brother, no matter what day was chosen for the event.

Miller said that most of the shared birthdays were spent around the family table celebrating with mom, dad, and the four children with Arvilla’s homemade birthday cakes, ice cream, a two-liter bottle of soda and one gift each for Tamela and Robert.

“We tried to make her actual birthday on leap year a little more special because they only happened every four years,” Miller said.

This year the family is celebrating in State College with dinner at Otto’s Pub and Brewery.

Not all the siblings can attend, but Tamela will again be sharing her birthday with her Irish twin Robert, who will be visiting from upstate New York.