Evil Twin, Brotherly Love, or Both?

By my hubby, Randy:-)

All kids provide a constant source of amusement and amazement but thinking about and observing identical twins has always proven to be most intriguing to me. The more I learned about identical twins the more amazed I became. Here are a few quick and interesting facts about identical twins “according to various sources on the internet”…

With all the technology available today, doctors still are not certain what causes one egg to split, technically it’s a malfunction of the normal developmental process. (Jen is convinced it was her dental xrays which she calculated was the exact time of her egg splitting!)

The odds of having identical twins is about 3 in 1,000.

Birth rates for identical twins are consistent across populations; it is the same regardless of race, geography or maternal age.

once identical twins leave the womb and are exposed to different pathogens, bacteria, and microbes, their immune systems are not identical at all.

Twenty-seven pounds and 12 ounces is the heaviest combined birth weight of any set of twins.

Identical twins have different fingerprints but the same DNA.

Theoretically speaking, if identical twins have kids, the kids can be considered (genetically) half brother or sisters not just cousins.

For those of you who have not met or read about (2) of our (4) children, meet Owen and Walker, identical twin boys. The story of their arrival unplanned arrival has been covered a few times so I won’t rehash it even though it is a classic story and I never get bored telling it.

http://www.charlottesmartypants.com/2007/11/just-when-you-think-youre-done-oops-its-twins/

http://www.charlottesmartypants.com/2008/08/two-and-not-quite-through/

My all time favorite memory of our twins goes back to when they were about 8 months old. I could watch them for hours as they romped around on the playroom floor, stealing each other’s toys and communicating in their own language. One day we heard a bizarre and unfamiliar loud noise that sounded exactly like monkeys fighting. We turned to see both boys sitting up, wearing only a diaper, nearly nose to nose and each hitting the back of his right hand rapidly against his own mouth while make a loud and aggressive “ayh ayh ayh ayh ayh” sound. I had never seen anything like it except for juvenile chimpanzees on the discovery channel. This animalistic behavior lasted for about two months but would only surface when there was a major conflict and each was attempting to exert dominance over the other. The text description of this behavior does it absolutely no justice but it was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. Of course, we don’t have it on video, which is my single biggest regret of un-captured childhood moments. That’s a separate blog altogether and should be titled “Loser Parents in a Technology Filled World Have No Video of Us.”

Fast forward to a few nights ago and a recent funny story…

Typically, we ask our boys to do their homework on their own and then we review it upon completion. Although Owen and Walker are in different first grade classes, they often have the same homework assignments. Tuesday night happened to be a rare occasion and an exception to the norm.

After the boys were finished with their homework, I reviewed it and checked it against their agenda to make sure they completed all assignments. I began with Owen’s work and quickly noticed he was missing a math worksheet. After five minutes of searching high and low and ultimately believing him when he said “I don’t know where it is, I never saw a math worksheet”, I was convinced his teacher forgot to put it in his folder.

So, I moved on to Walker’s folder. I compared his work against his agenda and noticed something odd. Walker’s folder contained a completed math worksheet with his name written in pencil on the top of the page but that was not listed in his agenda. I double checked Walker’s agenda and confirmed there was no math worksheet as part of his assignment. I double checked Owen’s agenda and confirmed there was a math worksheet as part of his assignment.

Hmmm, I realized what had happened, but my inquiring mind really wanted to know if happened accidentally or maliciously. I had my own suspicion.

I explained to Walker that a math worksheet was not listed as part of his homework and asked, “Why did you do this math worksheet? He was genuinely confused, scrunched his eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Because Owen handed it to me and said it was mine.”

An unusual silence fell over the room while everyone processed the information and thought about a response. Suddenly, Owen broke the silence by bursting into an uncontrollable belly laugh. What happened next was truly incredible. Owen calmly reached across the table, grabbed Walker’s folder, removed the worksheet Walker had completed, erased Walker’s name, added his own name and placed it into his own folder, all the while, wearing the biggest sh!t eating grin one could ever imagine.

After snapping out of his dazed and confused state of mind and finally realizing he had been duped into doing his brother’s homework; Walker, embarrassed, humiliated and mad, charged Owen and a full-fledged assault erupted. I quickly diffused the chaos and proceeded with our normal bedtime routine, brush teeth, read a book and back rubs.

A few hours later, as I was preparing for bed, I peeked into the boy’s room and witnessed Owen snuggled up with Walker, in Walker’s twin bed.

Evil twin, brotherly love or both?

photo credit: Becca Bond Photography

photo credit: Brooke Brown Photography

photo credit: Brooke Brown Photography

photo credit: Brooke Brown Photography