Sisterly Love

Listening to my girls giggle in the bathtub, I am reminded again how quickly they are growing up. I have often remarked that whole sibling concept was something completely foreign to me, as I was an only child. Luckily, my kids are doing their very best to break me in right. Or are they just trying to break me? I can't be sure.
On the first morning of their Thanksgiving break, I told the twins I was going upstairs because the baby was awake. "Hooray!" They shouted. How very sweet, I thought. They can't wait for her to get up so they can play together. What precious kids I have. And then my daughter added, "The baby's awake! Yesss! NOW we can SCREAM!" I should have known.
People often ask me if my girls have that twin thing going on. And the answer is yes, they do. When they were babies, they could communicate with one another months before they could say anything that remotely resembled any word in the English language. They would chatter away at each other, sounding like two chipmunks, and it soon became obvious that each knew exactly what the other one was saying. Even now, I can bring them into another room to pick out clothes and they will both pick similar outfits. If one chooses a shirt and jeans, 99% of the time the other one picks a shirt and jeans without having discussed it. It's really freaky. They definitely have the whole love/hate thing going on, too. They can say whatever they want about each other, but you'd better not. I consider myself extremely fortunate that for the time being, they will still tell on each other. I know that those days are quickly coming to an end, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.
Because twins come with a built in "freak factor," my husband and I get asked a lot of questions. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if my kids were twins, I'd be filthy rich by now. At least one person has asked me that question every single time I've ever left the house with these two. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But not much. My favorite question is, "Are they just alike? Or do they have different personalities?" To which I always want to say, "Are you just like your sister? Is your personality different from hers?" But I don't. Usually. Depends on what kind of day I'm having.
Yes, as much as it pains me, my babies are growing up. Today someone mentioned that my youngest child was getting bigger. Without a second thought, her sister replied, "Yeah, she's getting meaner, too!" Sisterly love at its finest. And that's as it should be. I think.