As soon as we found out that we were going to have twins in addition to our three older children, we discovered many life truths that keep coming up, even now that our twin daughters have their own children.
From the moment the doctor told us that we were expecting, not one, but two babies, the immediate reaction was, what are we going to do? I asked my husband, we have only one crib, the Wedge wood blue (which our three older children used), I could hear my voice, anxiously confused, worrying more about the furniture than the fact that there were two babies in my womb.
Deeply, I felt disoriented, there was something that bothered me about the twinship deal. I did not confide this to my husband, he was too bubbly, happily-silly and I swear, he was not walking the road, he was walking on the clouds.
When I got home, my eleven year old neighbor friend, after hearing the news, asked me if I was happy. She had to see something in my words and face to ask me such a question. I don't know, I answered... After a brief silence from both sides, I layed back on my bed, as if in a shrink office, and confided in this young girl that I felt it was going to be very difficult to raise these two human beings into independent, strong, loving-each-other persons. This was probably some article I read in a doctor's office; and the challenge frightened me.
Once at home after the hospital stay, everything was double. Yet I was very strict about giving each baby its time and place. From then on I refused to call them "twins", for me, they were Claudin and Lucinda, two little girls who happened to be born the same day and hour, only eight minutes apart.
As they grew up, we saw these two very individual little girls, even though people would think they were identical, they were not, and precisely because they were not, they had identical haircuts, wanted to have the same dresses, if possible, in different colors, sometimes, at their choice, they would have identical tricycles or Communion dresses.
In their first birthday, we gave Claudin a puzzle and a box of tools; we noticed she loved to challenge hereself to put things together. Lucinda liked to fancy herself with clothes-picks and anything colorful she could put around her neck and head. We enjoyed how different they were.
In Kindergarten they decided they wanted to go in the morning session. Then First or Second Grade, they decided to go to different classes. And so went on; we let them choose that part of the school deal.
When it came the time to go to the University, I was afraid they would be separated after so many years they shared every moment of their lives. My husband and I said nothing about it. They did apply to very different schools and I am pretty sure they were accepted likewise. Yet, when the decision came, they were going to the same University since their main interest was the athletics program they had. Uffff! What a relief that was, at least for me. It was so easy, if I may say that, when they were together, we did not have to worry as much.
Yes, the athletic department is what they had in common and I will not go into that, since you can find out on your own, from much a reliable source, treat yourself to fun/interesting reading in: http://currenttempo.blogspot.com.
It is very difficult to sum up the life of these two wonderful individuals. There are tons of stories from us and them as they travel their lives together. Now, two wonderful "mamitas" with three little toddlers, they still manage to be together, not only for their favorite activities - one of them Halloween, but to be able to continue running, the LOVE of their life. I see them struggling to run together, fortunately they are married to two wonderful runners they met in NCState, they are the perfect companions for them, for they understand their needs, their love to each other, their love for running, responding to them with their unconditional love for them.
Today, I shared another wisdom of their twinship life road. Claudin ran her first Marathon, a long 26.2 miles, thanks to her own goal and challenge. Even though she always preferred the short runs, because her thing was speed, where Lucinda's was distance, each one seemed to continue with the first trait we could see from a very early age. Today Claudin made Lucinda's day unforgettable and a very happy one, yet Claudin was the one that ran. I still remember the time when Claudin was interviewed by a reporter for her first place in the Md State competition. She was crying and very sad. When the reporter asked her, whay was she so unhappy, she replied that her sister should have got the title, not herself, since the event was her sister's and she could not run it due to an injury, the event was not her own. "I just got a good run in a good day, but it's still not fair".
Lucinda told me today, how she jumped in Claudin's miles in the USMC marathon, since she just had a baby five months ago, yet she felt so happy to run right beside Claudin. Just when Claudin was done with their encouraging chatting, Lucinda told her how proud she was of her and that she had to leave her alone those last three miles, because "she had to get her victory, on her own..."
They both claim their love and success in running to their mentor and beloved "Papi", who shared with them not only the love for the hundreds of miles he run, regardless of anything, but for he saw in them a team that we all envy for they are who they are, because they have each other and that is powerful and a special blessing. I guess, that's why he said to me, "...it would be nice if we all whould have our own twin..."
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