Monday, June 16, 2008

Rewind & Repeat

How was every one's weekend? Good? Did you Dads have a good Father's Day? I want to thank everyone who stopped by and commented on my note to Dad.

I spent the weekend with my twin sister. She so rocks! I don't know if I had any readers when I wrote this post, but I thought it important to re-post. It was so great to spend time with her and her wonderful family, that I just had to share her with you.

My Twin is Better than Yours
originally posted October 17, 2007

The fact that I only have one child causes me some anxiety sometimes. I never planned it this way. I always assumed after I got married, I'd see how the other half of the Mom's tried it. I was going to see what it was like to have a child WITH my husband. Alas (...sigh...) the health issues (previously mentioned in my other posts) determined that for me, and one is what I get.

When my son was in kindergarten, I was always so afraid for him. He rode the bus by himself, rode his bike in the court by himself (of course I watched, CPS back off), heck he would do so much by himself, or on his own, I am just amazed by his bravery. Knowing he would be an only child, although he seems perfectly fine with it, broke my heart and it took me quite a while to understand why. I never had to do anything by myself!

You see, I am 1/2 of a pretty well balanced twin team. My twin sister is truly my best friend. She is the Yin to my Yang. People always ask, "You mean there's another one just like you out there?" Heck no!! That would be absolutely crazy. You might say we are the same person, in a parallel universe (you Star Trek fans know what I mean).

I like to describe us as:
She's right handed and I am left.
She's got naturally straight hair, whereas mine is fresh from the electrical outlet.
She has brown eyes and I have blue.
She's good at Math & Science, where my interests have always been more Arts & History.
She's a bit more on the reserve side, where I'm kinda out there. (Not a professional diagnosis however).
She's tall and thin...Um...Okay, maybe we do have a lot in common (NOT)!!

We were pretty sure the Wonder Twins had NOTHING on us. Put us on a game show and we would bring home the prizes for sure!!

We're often asked, "What's it like being a twin?" To that, my answer is always "What's it like not being a twin?" I don't know how to be anything else. I have never had to do the whole alone thing. Obviously we had our own interests and did different things from time to time, but I have always had her to lean on. I have no idea where I would be, were it not for her, and I am constantly thankful for that.

There was a well known rule between my twin and I while growing up. If I asked permission from our folks, to do anything, the answer would always be "No!". However, if my sister asked the same darned question, it would inevitably be "Yes!" Oh how she would use that one over me. It was never known why at the time, but I used to do everything...short of physical harm (again, trying to keep CPS off my back)...to get her to ask for permission. We later asked Mom why this would be...and she simply said, "We always trusted her judgment more than yours". DUH!!! Of course you did!! I know I would!!

Now we are both grown up, with families of our own (who knew she'd end up with 3 boys) and yet we still talk every day! She lives a couple hours away, but we do try to see each other as often as we can. She has seen me through some very "interesting" (insert any appropriate adjective here) times. Maybe there was something to Mom's idea of judgment? Hmmmm....

Ever since that movie Beaches, my Mom has always she sees those girls as us. I guess to some cheesy/corny degree she is right. She IS "the wind beneath my wings". My hope? That I'm not the hole in her hot air balloon.

One of the best things about my sister? And another thing we don't have really in common, but a good quality I strive to have?? Her ability to NOT take things personally. She doesn't care much about what other people think. She lets things roll off her back pretty well, and amazes me every day. I only wish I had that quality. I'm getting better as I get older, but she stays 3 steps ahead of me.

When I grow up, I want to be like my sister!!

Thanks Cara!!

You ROCK!!!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I cried at the end. It was beautiful - thanks.

Suzanne said...

How cool is that? An anti Grandy! :)

Beautiful post!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing about your sister. But, it's funny. You look at your son and feel sad for him as an only child, but then I (as an only child) think of having a twin like you do and feel smothered! Weird huh? From a distance I recognize how truly awesome it is for you though! I love your mom's explanation for the 'favoritism' too ;-)

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

That's wonderful.

My sister and I never had that kind of relationship, but I'm lucky to have a great stepsister and sister-in-law.

Anonymous said...

Lucky~!!!
I always thought it would be cool to be a twin..but hence..I'm the only child..

Are you feeling sorry for me yet?

Jennifer S said...

Lucky you! I appreciate my sister, but I knew two sets of twins, growing up, and always thought it would be cool to have a twin.

Dirty Laundry Diva said...

You are a twin? That is super cool. I wish I had a sister.. I just got brothers.

Sweet post!

Travis Cody said...

Great answer to that silly question about what it's like to be a twin.

Michele said...

I loved this post the first time, but I think it's even better this time 'round! ;0)

I liked the part where you said: She's tall and thin...Um...Okay, maybe we do have a lot in common (NOT)!!

You're always so funny! ;-)

*smiles*
Michele
www.WritingtheCyberHighway.com

Momisodes said...

Such a beautiful post. I'm all misty eyed here. I had no idea you had a twin sister! (yup, I'm slow)

You are so fortunate to have each other :)

Mrs. F said...

I always wished I had a sister (not even necessarily a twin), but instead I only ever got a brother (I'm kidding. I love him super much and he had cute friends when we were younger).

Great sister story.

Anonymous said...

That was something... "you like to be your twin sister when you grow uP".. well, say about admiration. It is weird to find twins really that close. I can feel that your relationship with each other is really great. Congratulations!

Brittany said...

Wow, hat was so sweet, great post, and great blog!

Anonymous said...

Howdy, hello. I've been stopping by but MY TWINS have been monopolizing me. I so hope they are close like you and your sister as they grow.

And, I loved the letter to your dad. Very touching.

I hope you are doing fine and dandy, Grandy. (i feel like an old groupie having been around for the original postings and reading them a second time)

Joyce-Anne said...

You have such a wonderful way with words. I loved this post about your twin. I have three sisters (no brothers) and we're fairly close, but I always secretly wanted a twin sister.

Tina Coruth said...

Grandy,

That is beautiful! I'm glad you reposted it. Thank you!

Tina

Grandy said...

Jacqueline~ I'm sorry to have made you cry. Thanks for stopping by though.

Suzanne~ Anti-Grandy...probably a good thing.

Treesflowersbirds~ I failed to appreciate it at the time.

Jenn~ You are lucky to have that with the other women.

MP~ Feeling sorry as we speak.

Jennifer~ It is very cool. Thanks!

Grandy said...

Diva~ Remind me to post about my brother some time.

Travis~ I've had years to practice the response.

Michele~ I'm so grateful you're still around after the first round. Truly honored.

Sandy~ You have no idea.

Mrs. F~ My brother never had cute friends. :(

Wll~ Thank you for your words, and for stopping by.

Brittany~ WOW! Thanks so much! I appreciate you stopping by.

Dee~ I thought of you when I re-posted it, and those beautiful babies of yours. So lucky you are still around too. :)

Joyce-anne~ Thank you sweet lady. I'm glad you enjoy.

Tina~ Anything for you. :)

Anonymous said...

Grateful I'm still around? Where on earth would I go?! I'm not going anywhere. You're awesome, Grandy, and we all know it!


*hugs and smiles*
Michele

Grandy said...

You RAWK Michele. ;)

Lisa said...

This is such a beautiful post! Reminds me so much of my sister and me. We're not twins, but are very close. Sisters rock!

Grandy said...

Lisa~ Sisters do rock. I agree! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.