‘I’m still a teenager’: 76-year-old woman celebrates 19th birthday

Two Tallahassee, Florida, ‘leaplings’ talked about their special day. (Source: WCTV)
Published: Mar. 1, 2024 at 6:55 AM EST

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray News) - A 76-year-old Florida woman celebrated her 19th Leap Day birthday.

Patricia Press, 76, celebrated by gathering for a birthday dinner with her friends and family

“I’m still a teenager,” Press said. “I’m totally different from everybody else. Nobody else I know is 19 and 76 at the same time.”

Patricia Press, a 76-year-old woman, celebrated her 19th birthday on Thursday.(WCTV)

It’s a running joke in the Press family that her sons quickly surpassed her in age.

“When I was 16, I think she was 12,” Patricia’s son Michael said.

He hopes there will be many more Leap Day birthdays to come.

“When it is Leap Year and we do get to come together and celebrate her actual birthday, it makes it even more special,” he said.

Press wasn’t the only one in Tallahassee marking a special day. A 16-year-old celebrated her fourth birthday on Leap Day.

Lark Walker said her friends and family love to tease her about her age.

“Especially around my birthday, that’s when the jokes really start flying in,” Walker said. “If I act a little bit younger than what I actually am, my mom will tell me I’m acting my actual age and not how long I’ve actually been on this Earth.”

The last time Lark had an official birthday was when she was 12. She said each Leap Day, her family goes all out planning an extra special day for her. This year, her mom got her a puppy as a birthday surprise.

Both Wilson and Press will have to wait four years until their next official birthday.