Sunday, February 29, 2004
Thursday, 19th February 2004 - Emma, aged 29, London, UK
Emotions make us human. Pain is a good sensation (in small amounts!) because it proves you are alive. That’s why we pinch ourselves to prove we’re not dreaming. I’ve been very emotional (read “tearful”) today. Today the charity people came and took away the big black leather armchair from my flat that I took from my late maternal grandmother’s flat. It held such memories, but there is no room in my flat for it. So it had to go. I rang my dad and burst into tears. He made comforting noises and talked about moving on, both physically and emotionally. Perhaps today wasn’t the best day to do this. Today is the second anniversary of her death. It seems like yesterday. She was 97 and I was 27. We were very close - the only grandchild and the only grandparent. We were very alike as well, which didn’t lead to a friction-free existence! But I am amazed that, although I can go for days without thinking about her, every so often, without warning I am hit with a wave of grief so overwhelming I can hardly breathe. One such wave appeared from nowhere on Sunday whilst I was driving at seventy miles per hour down a motorway. A song came on the radio (‘You left me’ by Randy Vanwarmer) and suddenly tears were pouring down my cheeks and I could hardly see. Yet today, in the midst of my grief and overwhelming sense of loss, I am sure that tomorrow I will be happy and cheerful, grateful for what we shared, enjoying being alive. Find your joy where you can. Even in your sadness, enjoy the strength of your emotions. Emotions are magical. Emotions make us what we are. Without them, we are nothing.
Posted by February 29th @ 07:58 pm GMT [Link]
Friday, February 27, 2004
What's this all about?
"Make plans for February 29th. It only happens once every 4 years, so it's worth making a bit of fuss"
- wise words from Grainne Lynch, January 9th, 2004.
I'm not sure why it has taken me until the age of 26 to realise just how wrong it is not to celebrate this day but thanks to Grainne my eyes have been open and I now see the error of my ways. People celebrate lots of things, the day they were born, the day two people get married, the day that someone tried to blow up the houses of parliament... so why not celebrate a day that only exists once every four years?
I pondered ways in which I could celebrate this day. Take the day off work, go out with some friends and drink alcohol, make a cake and buy presents for people? Nothing seemed quite special enough for the rarest day in the calendar. Then it hit me if I started something on February 29th that lasted a whole year it would be the finest tribute I could possibly pay to the extraordinary day.
So I will... and I shall call it the February 29th project.
Long ago the friends of the heroes began a diary in which everyone who wrote for the site used to take it turns to update. Then most of us got lazy and it was only Dimitra wrote, then she got lonely and stopped writing too.
I had a brainwave. Instead of trying to resurrect this page or deleting this page entirely it should become the home the February 29th Project.
The project is a fairly simple one. Find 366 people from different, countries, cultures, and backgrounds and ask them to write about a single day of their life. Then, starting on February 29th 2004, each of these accounts will be placed here one day after the next for a whole year.
The accounts don't need to be long - in fact there will be a strict limit of 300 words. They can be anonymous but must include some indication of your age, sex and location. The accounts don't have to be about anything profound or deep or exciting. Just written about normal everyday things. The important thing is they must be honest and reflect an aspect of an actual day in your life.
By now you maybe shaking your head and asking why? What is the point? Well just think about it: 366 different people all united by a single cause. All with a unique perspective on life, all contributing to a giant story which nobody will know the ending of until and February 28th 2005.
February 29th is special. It deserves no less.
If you are interested in taking part please email the friends of the heroes, at the following address friendheroes@friendsoftheheroes.co.uk, with the words February 29th in the subject line.
Posted by February 29th @ 10:19 pm GMT [Link]
