Tuesday, April 17, 2012

And so it begins ...

Matthew and Jonathan rarely dress alike, but their Angry Birds shirts are new (a gift from their big sister) and they are obsessed, so each insisted on wearing his this morning.
 As Matthew was dressing, his face suddenly burst into a grin.
"Let's wear the same pants, too, so we can trick the teachers," he said with a giggle. "I'll say I'm Jon and he'll say he's Matt!"
I refused, of course, but the idea lived on.
Matthew dreamed up all kinds of scenarios that involved fooling people with their similarities. Jonathan was less intrigued, but willing to go along with his brother's plans.
Thankfully, they forgot about the whole thing when they arrived at school to find another child in an Angry Birds shirt.
Angry Bird talk dominated instead.
They cannot fool me and I honestly doubt they look enough alike to pull it off with the teachers who know them best, but the seed is germinating despite our efforts to make conditions unfavorable.
And who can blame them?
While the parent in me growls at the thought, the kid in me is a bit envious.
Life can be tough as an identical twin, so I understand why they might want to have a little fun with it once in a while, especially since this is something only identical twins can do.
But it would be unfair to their teachers and their friends, and it would be awfully hard for them to demand treatment as individuals if they acted like a unit even just for a day.
So the foot is down.
The fun is quashed.
For now.
At least until they are old enough and clever enough to defy me.
 



8 comments:

pyjammy pam said...

Oh no...this strikes terror into my heart! I'm scared of the day mine finally figure out they can do this. So I guess I have about a year? Gulp!

Gammy sherry said...

Lori, I think this is great but then again I'm not the mom of twins, but I am a grandmother who probably has a facetious heart - - - look at their eyes and the story is told - - - silly innocence is so apparent. No abuse here - - - only innocence and a little fun in mind. Be blessed!

Twinsmom said...

Oh, pyjammy pam! I can't even imagine with three of them!
Gammy Sherry (I love that!), you are so sweet. Thank you!

Shelly Cunningham said...

They are seriously so adorable!

Anya Wimberly said...

My girls are 7-months-old so we should have some time on this one. I'd have to say though, that if they ask me, I won't give my approval, but if they don't ask and just do it--they also won't get in trouble
: ) : )

Kerrie @ Family Food and Travel said...

Oh dear...this is my future! Love the photos and your story.

http://familyfoodtravel.blogspot.ca/

Mello said...

Hi Lori. Thank you for your blog. I was surprised to learn about some of the articles you cite and I have had some fun reminiscing with your remarks as I thought about my mom.

As I'm an identical twin, I thought you might be interested in my perspective. It is clear that you love your children yet I feel you are concerned over things you cannot control. To put it bluntly, your kids are having a blast and they will continue to do so throughout their lives.

They have known for a long time now that they can trick people. I'm sure that if you dig a little deeper you'll learn that they have done it already. They will have a lot of fun with it and I'd be surprised if you got to learn of 10% of the times they do it going forward.

I'm also a little concerned about your remark regarding life being tough for identical twins. Believe me, it's far better than you imagine. Your kids will know that someone always has their back. They will have a mate that can teach them how to excel in areas they were not interested in pursuing, they will share common friends who know them as individuals, and they will get used to having people confuse them (they'll have fun with those people pretty often).

After some time, you'll understand that they share a relationship that is different from any other in your family, and that the best way to get to one of them and influence their decisions is through their sibling.

If you encourage them to practice sports, they will be ridiculously competitive, but they will learn from that form of interaction, and they'll stay away from each other's throats (you'll really want to get them busy).

I'm sure they'll be more than fine and quite happy. Thanks again for your blog

Twinsmom said...

Mello, Thank you so much for your comments and for your insight! I'm sure my boys will pull plenty of trickery in the future, especially as they get older. They are sweetly devious little guys!
I'm glad to hear you enjoy your identical twin status. I'm sure my guys do as well. I do believe though that an sibling relationship can be difficult as well as rewarding at times. Clearly, your parents succeeded in emphasizing the positives and that's wonderful to hear! Thanks again and I hope you'll comment more in the future.