Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

Yesterday, my niece wanted to watch a re-run of Full House. We discussed the Olsen Twin transformation from little bits to whatever they are now. The episode involved a twin contest, and poor old Stephanie Tanner who tried to fake being a twin in order to score with the cute boy twins who said they "only hang out with other twins." It was riveting.

My mom called me last night to say that a friend of mine from high school is expecting twins several months from now. This is not a person that you can imagine having two babies at once, but I'm sure she'll manage.

My mom is a twin. She's 5'1 ...her twin brother is 6'2". She's a bit resentful.

My my mom's mom is an identical twin. She and her sister still dressed in matching outfits until they got married in their late teens. Her twin sister died from pancreatic cancer this spring. My grandma took it harder than anyone else, including her sister's husband and 5 children.

On my mom's side of the family, if you travel back far enough, there are 19 sets of twins. If you are a female, the odds of having twins if your mother is a twin are quite great. I was more than relieved both pregnancies to see only one baby on the ultrasound screen. I might consider having a third child if I was not quite certain that I'd only be tempting Mother Nature to give me twins on the 3rd try. I really think I am one baby at a time kind of woman.

And in news related to all of this...my brother called today to tell me that his wife is having two babies herself. Twins not due to genetics -- they are the work of modern medicine. The idea of my little brother up at night walking a baby in each arm is a bit much to fathom. But we could not be more excited. A year ago at this time, I was anxiously counting the days until I could bed the mister again in hopes of conceiving a sibling for our daughter. At the same time I prayed that it would not just be two pink lines for me, but also my sister and sister-in-law, who both were battling infertility. My sister told me she was pregnant the same day I learned of the future Conrad. And now, not even a year later, we gleefully count the months and days until our family baby count is doubled.

Because we are our father's children, after expressing our excitement, my brother and I agreed that twins are great for several reasons, not excluding the fact that its practically like Buy One Get One Free. We do love a bargain.