Twin Swing

The other day Ben took the "big kids" (I realize that one day I will laugh about calling a not yet 3 year old a big kid, but he is to us!) on a big neighborhood bike ride, and I met them at their destination park with the babies.  

I had seen twins sharing a swing before, but hadn't had the chance to try it out with the babies and oh. my. goodness.  The cutest thing ever!  The babies loved it, and ended up hanging out in their little swing for nearly an hour smiling and kicking and watching kids and whatever else it is they like to do.  I ended up chatting with a woman who is an identical twin herself, only adding to my collection of amazing twin stories.  

I have met grown twins who aren't sure whether they are identical or not, because their mother died when they were young, and their father looked at them like they were crazy when asked if there was one placenta or two.  And they haven't bothered to get genetic testing, because why bother? (I think everyone knows they are identical.  They look exactly the same).  I have met a twin who confessed to me that she feels closer to her twin than to her husband.  We have one friend whose parents are both twins (one fraternal, one identical), and was shocked when her firstborn wasn't a twin.  I have met an identical twin who, along with her twin, was adopted at age six and has only been told that as a baby, her and her twin would only want to fall asleep while looking at one another.  These are amazing stories!  I am so thankful to have this new window into families and relationships, because I don't think I would have heard a single one of these stories if I weren't holding a pair of twins in my lap.

I read a NY Times article the other week (I'll add the link later, their web page is being finicky!) about twins separated at birth and reunited later in life.  I found myself tearing up while reading the story of a pair of seventy eight year old twins who were reunited in their golden years after they were adopted by separate families.  I just can't imagine the bittersweet joy of discovering one's twin so late in life.  I watch our two girls smiling at one another, chewing on each other's feet, or mimicking one another's noises, and am just so happy for them.  These two, they clearly belong together.