Twin Things

Since I come from a "twin" family, I thought I would answer the "twin" questions out there for anyone who wants to ask. We have two sets of twins in my family--my sister Emily and I, and my younger brother and sister, Steven and Laura, who are almost 14. We also have a little brother, Ryan, who will soon be 7 [he's a poor, lonely, singleton. haha].

I have heard a lot of stupid questions over the years. So if you are thinking of talking to a twin about what it is like to be a twin, then you might want to read this first. ;)

1. "What is it like to be a twin?"
How in the world do I answer that? It's not like I have anything to compare it to. Maybe I should ask you how you like being a singleton. Of course I like it, but I've never experienced anything else!

2. "Do you hurt when your twin hurts?"
No!! We are just like anyone else. Like my dad says, we are just "womb mates"!

3. "Do you think the same thoughts at the same time?"
Of course not.... Sometimes we finish each other's sentences, but I also do that with my little sister. That just comes from knowing someone very, very well.

4. "Are you identical?"
This one is my absolute favorite. Me: blond haired, light blue (almost gray) eyes, and a round face. My twin sister: dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, and a more oval face. We are obviously not identical.
The one that really takes the cake though is when people ask this question about my twin brother and sister. No they are not identical. Do you need a biology lesson??!

5. "How could y'all have different majors/hobbies/tastes? Aren't you twins?"
Once again, we are each very different people, with definitely different callings in life.

6. "Since you're twins, y'all must share everything."
Once upon a time, when we were 2 years old, yes we had all the same things. But we each have our own very distinct styles and tastes. And there are things that we each have apart from the other one.

7. "Why don't y'all dress alike?"
When we were little, we were almost thought of as one person, "Katie-'n-Emily." We wanted desperately to be known for the individuals we were--and we didn't want to confuse that any more by dressing alike.

8. "Why don't your names rhyme?"
Because my parents didn't want them to. (What else should I say?)

9. "Don't you get tired of being a twin?"
Nope. You don't get tired of having the family that you have, do you?

10. "Do you have a 'twin language'?"
I really can't say that we have ever spoken to each other in a different language. I don't remember ever even trying to create our own language or anything. I do know that the worst punishment Mom ever gave us for fighting was our being banned from speaking for the day. (We never had bad fights, just sibling squabbles.) But we couldn't stand to not speak to each other for an entire day! We wrote notes on those days and passed them under the table to each other during our homeschool classes. :) Another creative punishment for arguing was her tying our arms together with a cloth and making us clean the kitchen together (forcing us to cooperate and stop fighting). It worked, too! ;)


There are a whole lot more things I could say about being a twin. But definitely, the biggest blessing is just being able to say that all my life I've been able to grow up with my best friend right beside me the whole way!! :)

P.S. As this is Mother's Day, I add a huge thank you to my wonderful mother--for giving birth to 5 children in only 3 pregnancies, raising us to fear the LORD, and being the most beautiful Proverbs 31 woman I can think of. I love you Mama!