On Leap Day 2000, Mary Durning and Ben Burnet got another gift, besides their 6-pound, 10-ounce baby girl. Left for them in the maternity ward at Howard County General Hospital was a long-stemmed red rose and a handwritten note from a stranger that read:
"Congratulations on your 'leapie!' I, too, am a leapie and I am '13' today. Please know that you have a very 'special' baby." It was signed "Linda Potsiadlo, Columbia."
"I have kept the note all these years," said Durning, who displays it on a page in her daughter's scrapbook with other Feb. 29 trivia.
It turns out that Potsiadlo, an English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher at Murray Hill Middle School, still lives in Columbia. She said she had almost forgotten about leaving the flower and message for the Leap Day baby.
"It's fun to rekindle that memory," said the Kings Contrivance resident. "I had been to the hospital to visit a friend who'd had twins a few days earlier, but when I saw the little 'leapie' in the nursery I decided to buy a rose from the gift shop and write the family a note."
Potsiadlo, who has taught in the Howard County school system for 30 years, added, "I'm turning the big 6-0 this year, so this news just warms my heart and makes my birthday more special."
Durning said she might stop at the hospital and leave flowers for any babies born today.
"I just think that would be the right thing to do - to bring this story full circle," she said.