Being A Twin....

How many times have I been asked in my lifetime, "What is it like to be a twin?" A fair guess would be probably a million times. Any time I meet someone new and they ask me that specific question they get the standard brief answer, "It's fun." I know that it's the easy way out. If you have a brother or sister, think about your relationship with them, then multiply that by 20 with a lot more laughs and angst, and you're close to fathoming what it is like to be a twin.

If you know anything about twins, there are two different types: Dizygotic (fraternal) and Monozygotic (identical). With Dizygotic twins, there are two fertilized eggs implanted in the uterine wall that are independently fertilized by two different sperm cells. The variations are male-female twins (Shout out here to my friend, Carrie and her twin brother, Joe), female twins, and male twins. In the case of Monozygotic twins, there is a single egg that is fertilized by a single sperm, which then divides into separate embryos. Monozygotic twins are the same sex with traits and a physical appearance that are VERY similar, but NOT exactly the same.... The DNA is nearly identical, but environment does impact genes. Thus, this explains various nuances that will allow someone looking closely to tell "identicals" apart. Drum roll, please! This is the classification that my twin sister and I fall under according to our birth certificate. "We" of course think that we look nothing alike, but we accept that the general population may disagree.

In the late 80s or early 90s, some physicians did a study and asserted that there is a classification termed "half-identical" or "semi-identical." It's complicated, but the basic gist of what you need to know is that they don't share their entire genome as identical twins would. They carry the same genes from their mother, but different genes from their father. Still, they are more the "same" then they are "different." My twin and I believe that this is our true classification, but obviously we happened before the scientific discovery of the classification.

Once people are done with asking the basic "What is it like..." question, they try to get more creative. I have provided a list of my favorites below...

"Do you know what each other is thinking?"

A: No, telepathy isn't one of our many talents. I can't look at my twin and know exactly what she is thinking. After many years of twindom, I am pretty good at reading her body language and facial expressions though. Thus, I pretty much know when she is irritated, troubled, happy or perplexed.

"Can you feel what she feels?"

A: I can honestly say that we had one incidence where this occurred. We were really little when it happened (maybe 6 or 7 years old). Danielle was outside playing with some friends while I napped inside on the couch. Suddenly, I woke up screaming in pain clutching my arm. It turns out that Danielle clumsily fell trying to climb a fence and broke her arm. Pretty spooky, huh? That is the only time something like that has happened to us. 

"Who's smarter?"

A: This definitely is a stupid question...I'm not even going there. I will say that Danielle and I had an IQ test done when we were young (long story). We are within points of one another. Honestly, the genius in the family is our little sister, Jessie, but then that is another story and another blog posting.

"When is your birthday, then?" (after one of us has already given the date)

A: I swear to you that we have been asked this quite a few times - with and without alcohol involvement. It still gives us a good laugh when it happens. 

"Did you ever switch places?"

A: The answer is "YES!" I truly believe that "switching" is a right of passage for identical twins. Do you seriously want to know how many boyfriends that we have tricked or teachers that we have angered? We will leave it up to your imagination....

In close, I thank God that I was blessed with the "twin factor." And as I mention all of the time when I am asked that initial question, "It's fun."