The rice was cooking. The ground turkey was soaking up the taco spices. The black beans (protein for our vegetarian son) were in the microwave. Dinner was almost ready the other day when my domestic bliss was distributed by a frantic, high-pitched cry.
"Help! Help! Someone help me!"
I darted into the living room, afraid of the scene that might await me. What I found made my heart stop ... in a good way. Jonathan stood on the edge of the sofa in a crouch. Matthew stood below him with his arms outstretched.
"I will help you Jonny," Matthew said in a soft voice. "I will help you."
Jonathan leaped gently into his brother's arms and both boys crashed to the floor in a fit of giggles. Then Matthew climbed onto the sofa, stood in a crouch on the edge and yelled, "Help! Help!" while Jonathan reached out to him.
It was a game.
Just a game.
New, complicated, highly imaginative games are becoming an important part of Matthew's and Jonathan's twin life lately.
Among their favorites:
They serve each other pizza and salads.
They use a toy blood-pressure monitor as a racing flag and take turns running to an imaginary finish line.
They have rules about who can shout "bah" and when while they are watching DVDs.
Even more interesting is that they are in agreement.
Matthew and Jonathan do not argue about the rules. When one chastises the other for breaking a rule, the scolded twin complies. Neither tries to take control over the other. They don't question each other's judgment.
Oh, I'm sure their time will come.
They are only three, after all.
But I am living in the moment.
And right now, I am in awe of them.
I am loving it.
1 comment:
Hi! I came across your blog completely by accident a few days ago, and have loved reading it! My identical twin boys will be three in June. I have laughed at how many things you wrote could have been written by me! I used the Podee bottles and the Snap and Go stroller and I have had conversations about their bowel movents being in sync! We have had to rearrange their room three times because they started playing with each other while in bed, next the blinds, now they are figuring out how to climb out and on to the changing table - thank goodness they are still in their cribs... for now at least.
My boys are dresseed alike most of the time just because it is easier for me to pick out one outfit! I do try to get different colored shirts but that isn't always possible. I've always figured that by the time they care, they can dress themselves - one of them was in three different outfits yesterday all on his own.
I loved reading about some of the research you have done about twins. I also admire how you have taken what you've learned and fit it to your life and your family. I do want my boys to be individuals but also think that the fact that they are twins is neat and should be celebrated rather than downplayed!
One of my twins has always been larger than the other (1 -3 lbs).
The smaller one had hernias as a newborn. This type of thing has always made people question if they are identical. I love something that I read that said that identical twins are like making an apple pie from the same recipie. You start out the same ingredients, but no two will ever turn out exactly the same!
I have a daughter in second grade and a son in kindergarten and it has been so fun for me to watch the differences in twins v/s singletons. I'm glad the twins are my last, it is so cool that they have buddies during the day when the other kids are gone to school. They amaze me, make me laugh, make me want to pull my hair out... and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Sorry about the novel! Thanks for sharing your stories, it's fun to find people with common ground :)I'm sure I'll be back!
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