Twin Fascination

Being a Mother of Multiples requires a good sense of humor and a great deal of patience.  And I am not talking about dealing with my children.  Whenever we go out in public we are bombarded with questions, comments, people approaching, etc.  I think I have heard more than a thousand times, "boy, you have your hands full..."  Like I hadn't noticed.  I usually just smile and agree.  It is true.  I DO have my hands full.  The second most popular comment is "God bless you."  I often respond to this that "I believe, that God thinks he already has."  I am also surprised how many people ask me "are they twins?"  This always makes me laugh a bit.  Unless those who ask are thinking I am carting around someone else's baby along with my other two children, I wonder, what else they think the girls could be.  Sometimes I consider saying no, just to see what response I get.

Most of the time I don't mind the attention we get.  I love showing off the girls.  Sometimes, however, I wish we could get in and out of places without being noticed.  Last week, I tried to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart.  I had a very finite amount of time.  I was stopped no less than five times in the half hour I was in the store.  A few people even stopped me while I was walking so that their baby or child could look at my TWO babies.  Today, I was at Target to get diapers.  I was stopped by an older couple who told me their whole life stories with their involvement with multiples.  The husband was a triplet who had twin older brothers.  The wife told me about how she thought she was pregnant with twins but believes she lost one of the babies.  Very personal stuff.  They asked me question upon question about my pregnancy and my babies.  I tried to be polite and accommodating, but twenty minutes later I still hadn't gotten my diapers.  I finally had to wish them well and be on my way.  I need to find a polite way to acknowledge people's interest without having to get so involved in conversation.

I guess I am a bit surprised at how much attention we attract when we go out.  I mean, they are really cute babies, so I guess I understand why.  And most people are very nice when they approach me and genuinely seem curious.  I know twins are special (as all children are) but honestly, twins don't seem so uncommon to me.  But then, this is my life.  Plus, I have been meeting a lot of other families with mulitples lately, so it has become a  normal family dynamic to me.

I think/hope that the questions and the interruptions will subside a bit as the girls get older and errands will be interrupted only by the normal and frequent needs of our children.  Perhaps less people will notice that the girls are the same age as they start to grow into their own looks and their own personalities.  They are not identical, so they could develop very differently.  But for now, I will just try to enjoy the extra attention.  No one is going to ask us to make a show about our family life, but there is usually someone willing to open a door for me or help me get things off of shelves or take stuff out to my car and that is nice.  Because, while sometimes I wish I could remain a little more invisible, the truth is, I often really need and appreciate the help.