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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Just Settled Down for a Long Winter's Nap...
Home is wherever Double Daddy reads The Night Before Christmas. God bless us, Everyone.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Way Back When-esday: Singing Shepherds
Twins' Age: 9
Per our pair's unanimous request, they are nine in this week's Way Back When-esday. ("We don't always need to be two or something....")
This year, He-Twin reprised his role as a shepherd and added wise man to the mix. She-Twin sacrificed her shepherd-hood, serving as Mary and a "wise person."
Remembering pageants of years past makes my Wednesday wonderful.
Why don't you dive into your digital files and play along with Way Back When-esday?
Seek out an overlooked snapshot or scan a scrapbook find...share an image you might not otherwise. Tell the tale and place a post on your blog. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and please leave a comment when you do!
What else warms my mid-week? One of my very favorite blogger's fresh release of three amazing new texts for kids! You can read She-Twin's review here, but please go peek at the author's page, CampbellLawson.com !
Please peek at the CampbellLawson.com website and let me know in the comments which text YOU'D select for your kid(s)! One randomly selected commenter will win a copy of Somebody!
And don't forget: warm someone else's mid-week, and do it for Abbie. Find the details here. [One kindness-doer will receive a free night at Great Wolf Lodge, Williamsburg...courtesy of RichmondMom.com.]
Monday, December 19, 2011
Makes My Monday: Menacing Mary
She-Twin played in a clarinet duet. She was a wise "person." She was Mary. She smiled...
...most of the time.
Pageant pictures Make My Monday.
Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday!
Please don't forget to Act for Angel Abbie before Christmas Eve. One random act of kindness will receive an evening at Great Wolf Lodge---courtesy of RichmondMom.com.
Pageant pictures Make My Monday.
Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday!
Please don't forget to Act for Angel Abbie before Christmas Eve. One random act of kindness will receive an evening at Great Wolf Lodge---courtesy of RichmondMom.com.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Semi-Spiritual Sunday Snippet: Ricky Bobby Style
Given the chance to light the Advent Wreath candle symbolizing love his morning, and as a byproduct, tasked to share what love at Christmas means to us, Talledega Nights kept coming to the fore....
Everyone was ready for a messiah. A king. A military leader. An orator. A philosopher. An emperor. A ruler. A giant man of strength.
What they---what WE---got, was a baby, lying in a manger.
Babies reduce us all to a state of cooing admiration.
We want to be near them.
We want to pat their heads softly.
We want to show our goofiest faces to them.
We want to smell them.
We want to hide ourselves and then reveal with a big “Peek a Boo!”
We want to kiss and tickle their toes.
We want to do zerberts on their bellies to see them smile and laugh
We want to take care of feeding them
We want to keep them safe
We want to tell others—especially the parents---how precious they are.
We want them to know they are loved.
Christmas allows us to focus our love simply and appreciatively toward that one sweet, full-of-promise baby.
Ricky Bobby was on to something.
When I asked He-Twin what love at Christmas means, without hesitation answered far more succinctly, “Everything.”
AMEN.
Everyone was ready for a messiah. A king. A military leader. An orator. A philosopher. An emperor. A ruler. A giant man of strength.
What they---what WE---got, was a baby, lying in a manger.
Babies reduce us all to a state of cooing admiration.
We want to be near them.
We want to pat their heads softly.
We want to show our goofiest faces to them.
We want to smell them.
We want to hide ourselves and then reveal with a big “Peek a Boo!”
We want to kiss and tickle their toes.
We want to do zerberts on their bellies to see them smile and laugh
We want to take care of feeding them
We want to keep them safe
We want to tell others—especially the parents---how precious they are.
We want them to know they are loved.
Christmas allows us to focus our love simply and appreciatively toward that one sweet, full-of-promise baby.
Ricky Bobby was on to something.
When I asked He-Twin what love at Christmas means, without hesitation answered far more succinctly, “Everything.”
AMEN.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
A Tale of Trees...and Christmas
Our holiday story begins with a powerful, ancient tree. Her name was Smiley.
She was an old tree---well over 100 years. She was stately and regal.
In the summer months, Smiley shaded a family home under her leafy green umbrella. Cars travelled the street she flanked, canopied beneath her beautiful branches. Her exterior markings---her "barkings"---seemed sculpted as if to cast a smile toward those strolling the sidewalk and beam into the windows of the house below.
Each year, in the fall, Smiley shed her vast quantities of leaves...supplying plentiful piles for two pairs of jumping feet. The little boy who lived in the house would often erupt with glee seeing the swirling, airborne colors---flying patterns foreshadowing the winter ahead.
Now Smiley was strong, but not immune to incident. In the 14 years the family lived in the happy home she covered, Smiley dropped branches weighty enough to break not one, but two, windshields. One impressive and thoroughly sodden branch totaled a 2002 Honda Odyssey. Still the family---the neighborhood---loved Smiley. To this day, the family believes Smiley loved them.
So great her love, in late August, when hurricane rains fell and strong winds blew, Smiley invited herself into the house.
Surely she had no idea her intrusion would require the family to leave. Nor could she have realized she'd be shorn of her stunning, leaf-laden branches, be extracted from the home she loved, and have her stump removed from the plot it had inhabited for a life rich in ring acquisition.
The family moved to a nearby home. One---by intentional decision---without so prestigious a pin oak casting a shadow.
Autumn came and went; winter began.
In keeping with tradition, the family purchased another tree separated from its roots, and welcomed it into their home for the holiday season.
Alas, the adornments annually pulled from attic-stored boxes were now sequestered in a restoration/salvage locale for evaluation.
Then, Christmas magic began.
Friends, intuitively aware of the new tree's nakedness, thoughtfully collected and provided ornamentation...for not only the tree, but its new home.
One friend, knowing the lack of history in the relocation home, lovingly hand-constructed a tree resplendent with miniature books---texts read with dear friends over the preceding decade.
Family, always seeking to help, created opportunity for new, precious, child-created treasures to adorn the tree.
New neighbors, unknowing, provided a luminous tree across the street---a tree smiling brightly into the winter window of the temporarily displaced---but Christmas miracle cognizant---family.
Blessings via branches.
She was an old tree---well over 100 years. She was stately and regal.
In the summer months, Smiley shaded a family home under her leafy green umbrella. Cars travelled the street she flanked, canopied beneath her beautiful branches. Her exterior markings---her "barkings"---seemed sculpted as if to cast a smile toward those strolling the sidewalk and beam into the windows of the house below.
Each year, in the fall, Smiley shed her vast quantities of leaves...supplying plentiful piles for two pairs of jumping feet. The little boy who lived in the house would often erupt with glee seeing the swirling, airborne colors---flying patterns foreshadowing the winter ahead.
Now Smiley was strong, but not immune to incident. In the 14 years the family lived in the happy home she covered, Smiley dropped branches weighty enough to break not one, but two, windshields. One impressive and thoroughly sodden branch totaled a 2002 Honda Odyssey. Still the family---the neighborhood---loved Smiley. To this day, the family believes Smiley loved them.
So great her love, in late August, when hurricane rains fell and strong winds blew, Smiley invited herself into the house.
Surely she had no idea her intrusion would require the family to leave. Nor could she have realized she'd be shorn of her stunning, leaf-laden branches, be extracted from the home she loved, and have her stump removed from the plot it had inhabited for a life rich in ring acquisition.
The family moved to a nearby home. One---by intentional decision---without so prestigious a pin oak casting a shadow.
Autumn came and went; winter began.
In keeping with tradition, the family purchased another tree separated from its roots, and welcomed it into their home for the holiday season.
Alas, the adornments annually pulled from attic-stored boxes were now sequestered in a restoration/salvage locale for evaluation.
Then, Christmas magic began.
Friends, intuitively aware of the new tree's nakedness, thoughtfully collected and provided ornamentation...for not only the tree, but its new home.
One friend, knowing the lack of history in the relocation home, lovingly hand-constructed a tree resplendent with miniature books---texts read with dear friends over the preceding decade.
Family, always seeking to help, created opportunity for new, precious, child-created treasures to adorn the tree.
New neighbors, unknowing, provided a luminous tree across the street---a tree smiling brightly into the winter window of the temporarily displaced---but Christmas miracle cognizant---family.
Blessings via branches.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Way Back When-esday: A Farewell to Friendly's
Twins' Age: 9
Unbeknownst to us, this image may well be the last one taken in our beloved, beloved Brook Road (in Richmond, Virginia) Friendly's Restaurant. Every time Double Daddy had band practice? We went to
Late this past summer, we learned Friendly's was declaring Chapter 11. So potentially devastating was the news, Double Daddy "broke" it to me on the sly. We did let the kids know, but also shared the bright side of Chapter 11. The corporation could re-structure, and maybe, hopefully, do better as a result.
That afternoon, driving to pick up the twins from school, I heard the dreaded news on the radio. Of our local Friendly's-es, only two would remain open. "Ours" would not.
Once buckled in, we sped the familiar path to our happy haunt---hoping for a "Happy Ending." That hoped-for sundae wasn't meant to be. We were greeted (unlike how we'd ever been greeted in the past) with a locked door and lights out. If memory serves, there were some tears.
Offers to try the two stalwart stores were rebuffed. "Not the same." "They're not in our neighborhood." "Don't think the other ones are any good."
Then, last night, following the Christmas Concert at school (wherein She-Twin sang in the choir and played clarinet in the band; He-Twin was supportive audience member), for the celebratory "after-show" dinner, She-Twin selected another favorite, Quaker Steak & Lube. Once seated in the restaurant, unlike in past visits, the loud bar made it near impossible to hear each other. Before we placed an order, we left. Asking She-Twin for her alternate choice?
We went to Friendly's.
Twins' Age: 10
Here's to a new---non- Eleven---Chapter.
Refinding familiar fun warms my heart this mid-week!
Why don't you dive into your digital files and play along with Way Back When-esday?
Seek out an overlooked snapshot or scan a scrapbook find...share an image you might not otherwise. Tell the tale and place a post on your blog. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and please leave a comment when you do!
What else warms my mid-week? One of my very favorite blogger's fresh release of three amazing new texts for kids! You can read She-Twin's review here, but please go peek at the author's page, CampbellLawson.com !
Please peek at the CampbellLawson.com website and let me know in the comments which text YOU'D select for your kid(s)! One randomly selected commenter will win a copy of Somebody!
And don't forget: warm someone else's mid-week, and do it for Abbie. Find the details here.
Tuesday Twinterview: The Bookworms Edition
At this point in your life, what are your favorite 5 books of all time so far?
He-Twin (10):
The Action Bible
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Lego Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
She-Twin (10):
Smile
Drita, My Homegirl
Bridge to Terabithia
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
Weird, But True, Vol. 3
What are YOUR 5 favorite books?
Check out the postscript, and be sure to let Scholastic Books know...for a great cause!
One of my new favorites is by a beloved blog-friend, the hostess/author behind SittingOnAnOak and CampbellLawson.com.
Here, She-Twin's review of her new book, Somebody:
"Parents will enjoy Somebody because it will help them realize how often they say 'Somebody' instead of asking someone by name to do something*. Kids will feel better about discipline when they realize they are 'somebody special' all the time in their parents' eyes. [In the end] all the parents needed was a little help---literally!"
*As a twin mom I am very guilty of this practice! Now more aware, somebody in our house is committing to change...
We're also committing to a giveaway!
A copy of Somebody will be sent to a random commenter who shares their current favorite book to read to their children. Comment anytime this week. Winner will be notified in the next Tuesday Twinterview.
GOOD LUCK!
Our friends at Scholastic Books, via Whoopi Goldberg on yesterday's The View, just debuted the "One Million Bookprints for One Million Books” Campaign, an initiative to donate one million books to kids who need to read...and don't hey all? Adults and kids alike are encouraged to join Scholastic’s online book community, YouAreWhatYouRead.com. Once there, make a Bookprint – a list of 5 books that have shaped your life. And for every Bookprint, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate a book. Make a difference this holiday season!
[*Twinfatuation is listing this initiative voluntarily. No remuneration is being received for this mention. We did receive review copies from Campbell Lawson gratis, with no promise of a positive review. --CRL]
He-Twin (10):
The Action Bible
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Lego Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
She-Twin (10):
Smile
Drita, My Homegirl
Bridge to Terabithia
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
Weird, But True, Vol. 3
What are YOUR 5 favorite books?
Check out the postscript, and be sure to let Scholastic Books know...for a great cause!
One of my new favorites is by a beloved blog-friend, the hostess/author behind SittingOnAnOak and CampbellLawson.com.
Here, She-Twin's review of her new book, Somebody:
"Parents will enjoy Somebody because it will help them realize how often they say 'Somebody' instead of asking someone by name to do something*. Kids will feel better about discipline when they realize they are 'somebody special' all the time in their parents' eyes. [In the end] all the parents needed was a little help---literally!"
*As a twin mom I am very guilty of this practice! Now more aware, somebody in our house is committing to change...
We're also committing to a giveaway!
A copy of Somebody will be sent to a random commenter who shares their current favorite book to read to their children. Comment anytime this week. Winner will be notified in the next Tuesday Twinterview.
GOOD LUCK!
Our friends at Scholastic Books, via Whoopi Goldberg on yesterday's The View, just debuted the "One Million Bookprints for One Million Books” Campaign, an initiative to donate one million books to kids who need to read...and don't hey all? Adults and kids alike are encouraged to join Scholastic’s online book community, YouAreWhatYouRead.com. Once there, make a Bookprint – a list of 5 books that have shaped your life. And for every Bookprint, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate a book. Make a difference this holiday season!
[*Twinfatuation is listing this initiative voluntarily. No remuneration is being received for this mention. We did receive review copies from Campbell Lawson gratis, with no promise of a positive review. --CRL]
Monday, December 12, 2011
Makes My Monday: Acts for Angel Abbie
On Good Friday of this year, He-Twin and She-Twin lost a beautiful, courageous classmate to cancer.
Their school, our community, all who ever met Abbie Waters still grieve, and feel her absence profoundly. For this holiday season, her parents' first Christmas without their daughter here on earth, Abbie's mom, Mary Ann, is making a request:
Abbie's Christmas
"We have an idea for Abbie's stocking this year. You know how she was all about friendship and her friends were/are her world. Well, if you want to do a random act of kindness like letting someone in line ahead of you at Target, picking up a piece of litter, or just doing something extra for a friend or charity in Abbie's name....and then email it to Abbie at her email address: Abbiewaters [at ] aol.com, we will put all of the emails in her stocking by the fireplace and then on Christmas morning when we would have opened gifts with Abbie, instead we will open and read all the acts of kindness done in her name. I think this will be something Abbie would appreciate and I know Jeff and I will need something that morning to help us through. She loves/loved life and her friends....and most everyone she met she would consider as a new friend."
If during this holiday season you find a window wherein you can enact a morsel of niceness in remembrance of our much-loved and much-missed friend, please make a note of it, and email to AbbieWaters@aol.com. If it's easier or more comfortable for you, email me or leave me a comment and I will forward your kindnesses to Abbie's mom in time for Christmas eve.
The opportunity to act as Angel Abbie's hands this season Makes My Monday.
Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday.
Their school, our community, all who ever met Abbie Waters still grieve, and feel her absence profoundly. For this holiday season, her parents' first Christmas without their daughter here on earth, Abbie's mom, Mary Ann, is making a request:
Abbie's Christmas
"We have an idea for Abbie's stocking this year. You know how she was all about friendship and her friends were/are her world. Well, if you want to do a random act of kindness like letting someone in line ahead of you at Target, picking up a piece of litter, or just doing something extra for a friend or charity in Abbie's name....and then email it to Abbie at her email address: Abbiewaters [at ] aol.com, we will put all of the emails in her stocking by the fireplace and then on Christmas morning when we would have opened gifts with Abbie, instead we will open and read all the acts of kindness done in her name. I think this will be something Abbie would appreciate and I know Jeff and I will need something that morning to help us through. She loves/loved life and her friends....and most everyone she met she would consider as a new friend."
If during this holiday season you find a window wherein you can enact a morsel of niceness in remembrance of our much-loved and much-missed friend, please make a note of it, and email to AbbieWaters@aol.com. If it's easier or more comfortable for you, email me or leave me a comment and I will forward your kindnesses to Abbie's mom in time for Christmas eve.
The opportunity to act as Angel Abbie's hands this season Makes My Monday.
Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Aspirational American Apparel
Charged with choosing an occupation and sharing it on a shirt via Sharpie (alliteration, I can't quit you), here are our two's tees:
He-Twin's:
[Do be sure to note the centrally placed frame featuring the word "Crap" in the speak bubble.]
She-Twin's:
[Dare I declare waiting tables may have prepared me for all my life's jobs--mothering multiples included--better than college did? No slight intended, W&M...]
Not to omit the arts angle, the obverse of She-Twin's tee predicts performance...
Ask your little ones what THEY'D like to be...and share their response in the comments!
What did YOU want to be when you were in elementary school? Do you remember?
He-Twin's:
She-Twin's:
[Dare I declare waiting tables may have prepared me for all my life's jobs--mothering multiples included--better than college did? No slight intended, W&M...]
Not to omit the arts angle, the obverse of She-Twin's tee predicts performance...
Ask your little ones what THEY'D like to be...and share their response in the comments!
What did YOU want to be when you were in elementary school? Do you remember?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Way Back When-esday: Couch Kisses
Twins' Age: 5
A peck from Pops warm my mid-week.
Why don't you dive into your digital files and play along with Way Back When-esday?
Seek out an overlooked snapshot or scan a scrapbook find...share an image you might not otherwise. Tell the tale and place a post on your blog. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and please leave a comment when you do!
What else warms my mid-week? One of my very favorite blogger's fresh release of three amazing new texts for kids! A review will be coming soon, but please go peek at her page, CampbellLawson.com !
She-Twin ripped open our sample selection, and our hands-down toughest critic in-house began with, "This is AWESOME!"(The last text she reviewed got a C.)
Please peek at the CampbellLawson.com website and let me know in the comments which text YOU'D select for your kid(s)!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
It's All Relative
Amid the excitement of a new presidential political season...
She-Twin: "So who are you going to vote for this time, Mom?"
Mom: "It's so early in the process, I do like Jon Huntsman quite a bit; but I want to learn a lot more about all of them before I decide."
She-Twin: "I'm for Michelle Bachmann."
Mom (surprised): "Really? She's very different than Hillary Clinton, and you were so behind Hillary before."
She-Twin: "Is she related?"
Mom: "To Hillary?"
She-Twin (exasperated): "No, not to Hillary. Is she related to Bachmann Turner Overdrive?"
She-Twin: "So who are you going to vote for this time, Mom?"
Mom: "It's so early in the process, I do like Jon Huntsman quite a bit; but I want to learn a lot more about all of them before I decide."
She-Twin: "I'm for Michelle Bachmann."
Mom (surprised): "Really? She's very different than Hillary Clinton, and you were so behind Hillary before."
She-Twin: "Is she related?"
Mom: "To Hillary?"
She-Twin (exasperated): "No, not to Hillary. Is she related to Bachmann Turner Overdrive?"
Monday, December 5, 2011
Makes My Monday: Merry Midlife and Mayhem
Birthday fun with my family (for my 47th!) and holiday photo hijinx Make My Monday!
Play along! Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday!
Play along! Link up and share what Makes YOUR Monday!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Un-Merry Mythbusting
a.k.a. Talking about the Tooth Fairy and her Friends
[*This post is not intended for child readers. Please don't read within their sight range.]
When people learn my husband and I are the parents of twins, invariably the conversation proceeds down the path to assumed doubled challenges. Their suppositions are frequently spot-on:
“Oh absolutely, those first few weeks made it abundantly clear why sleep deprivation is used as a torture method!”
“Yes, as you can imagine, potty training two was uber-messy!”
“Of course we heard it very early, and immediately had to nip the ‘that’s not fair’ argument in the bud!”
With equal accuracy, as seasoned twin parents reassured us in shopping malls years ago, as our near-simultanaeously born siblings have grown older, it frequently has “gotten easier.”
Well, until that one night earlier this year.
Theretofore, the Easter Bunny annually left muddy footprints on our dining room table. Reindeer grazed upon glitter-sprinkled oats and baby carrots in our front yard. Leprechauns scattered throw pillows about the house and left their elfin green pee in our toilets---they never, ever, flushed.
Then last spring, She-Twin lost not one, but three baby teeth in a single week. Please note, She-Twin was on a first name basis with her personal tooth fairy, her name was---and if you ask me, still is---Tulip. Not only did money change hands between the two, Tulip and She-Twin communicated via under-the-pillow notes. She-Twin was beyond understanding when Tulip refused to bestow the requested ability to fly, and she forgave the incident wherein Tulip didn’t wish to risk wing singe on the 4th of July.
On that pivotal morning before summer break, having shared her 3rd grade delight upon the receipt of ten super shiny dimes from Tulip with a classmate, she was met with ridicule. “You still believe in the Tooth Fairy?” she was asked. She defended her wee winged pal, and then prepared for the parental inquisition.
Both our babes had questioned in the past, but in attempts to prolong and preserve innocence (and admittedly, a good portion of parental joy) we typically responded with, “All I know is if you don’t believe, _____________ (insert the present-giver of choice here) doesn’t come.”
This time, after dinner, with He-Twin upstairs, She-Twin told us of her humiliating episode. She asked me point-blank, “Are you the Tooth Fairy? Have you been lying to me?”
“Honey, we have been the tooth fairy. We certainly didn’t mean it as lying to you at all,” I explained as my tears started flowing alongside hers.
“Why would you do that?” she pressed on, as the sobbing continued.
Then Double Daddy, ever calm, lovingly began, “Sweetie, you know all those scary fairy tales about the bad things that can happen if you walk off in the woods, or tell lies, or open the door when you don’t who’s there? Those stories are meant to teach children in a child-like way the terrible things that can happen in life if you aren’t careful. Stories like that of the Tooth Fairy are meant to illustrate in a child-like way how incredibly wonderful life can be. We receive gifts and generosity and kindness and laughter and mischief and the promise of growth---all by simply asking, trusting, behaving, wishing and believing. The Tooth Fairy and the others are simply a loving way for parents to share that glimpse of life’s goodness with their children.”
As my sobbing continued—intensified by my man’s uncanny insight and wisdom---crying She-Twin then continued, “So wait, the Easter Bunny and…?”
“Well…” Double Daddy hesitated.
She-Twin let out a full-revelation acknowledgment wail. We all hugged and reinforced the spirit of those generous joy-bringers is very, very real. Naturally, any conversation of this ilk concludes with the lecture imperative on the need to keep this “truth” in house…letting other families address their conversations when it was their time…reminding her of how sad it was to hear from “someone else.”
After gathering our wits and regaining a semblance of composure, I went on upstairs to check on He-Twin, who surely had been listening.
“Hey Pumpkin, I guess you heard what all was going on downstairs.”
“About Santa?” he offered knowingly, with his typical I’m-seven-minutes-older maturity.
“Yes, she was pretty upset.”
“Wait, you mean Santa isn’t real?” he replied with perceptible lip tremble.
The whole heart-wrenching discourse was then replayed a second time for He-Twin’s benefit.
In many ways, parenting older twins is indeed, “easier.”
On that emotional evening of sequential Santa-squashing, not so much.
But this week, months later, with decorations all around, an envelope found its way to our hands---addressed to the North Pole.
Afterward, in true Tulip fashion, we found this slipped this under our pillow…
Think this will find a home in my jewelry box...right alongside my stash of sweet little baby teeth.
You can find this post and oodles of other fun holiday-centric reads at RichmondMom !
[*This post is not intended for child readers. Please don't read within their sight range.]
When people learn my husband and I are the parents of twins, invariably the conversation proceeds down the path to assumed doubled challenges. Their suppositions are frequently spot-on:
“Oh absolutely, those first few weeks made it abundantly clear why sleep deprivation is used as a torture method!”
“Yes, as you can imagine, potty training two was uber-messy!”
“Of course we heard it very early, and immediately had to nip the ‘that’s not fair’ argument in the bud!”
With equal accuracy, as seasoned twin parents reassured us in shopping malls years ago, as our near-simultanaeously born siblings have grown older, it frequently has “gotten easier.”
Well, until that one night earlier this year.
Theretofore, the Easter Bunny annually left muddy footprints on our dining room table. Reindeer grazed upon glitter-sprinkled oats and baby carrots in our front yard. Leprechauns scattered throw pillows about the house and left their elfin green pee in our toilets---they never, ever, flushed.
Then last spring, She-Twin lost not one, but three baby teeth in a single week. Please note, She-Twin was on a first name basis with her personal tooth fairy, her name was---and if you ask me, still is---Tulip. Not only did money change hands between the two, Tulip and She-Twin communicated via under-the-pillow notes. She-Twin was beyond understanding when Tulip refused to bestow the requested ability to fly, and she forgave the incident wherein Tulip didn’t wish to risk wing singe on the 4th of July.
On that pivotal morning before summer break, having shared her 3rd grade delight upon the receipt of ten super shiny dimes from Tulip with a classmate, she was met with ridicule. “You still believe in the Tooth Fairy?” she was asked. She defended her wee winged pal, and then prepared for the parental inquisition.
Both our babes had questioned in the past, but in attempts to prolong and preserve innocence (and admittedly, a good portion of parental joy) we typically responded with, “All I know is if you don’t believe, _____________ (insert the present-giver of choice here) doesn’t come.”
This time, after dinner, with He-Twin upstairs, She-Twin told us of her humiliating episode. She asked me point-blank, “Are you the Tooth Fairy? Have you been lying to me?”
“Honey, we have been the tooth fairy. We certainly didn’t mean it as lying to you at all,” I explained as my tears started flowing alongside hers.
“Why would you do that?” she pressed on, as the sobbing continued.
Then Double Daddy, ever calm, lovingly began, “Sweetie, you know all those scary fairy tales about the bad things that can happen if you walk off in the woods, or tell lies, or open the door when you don’t who’s there? Those stories are meant to teach children in a child-like way the terrible things that can happen in life if you aren’t careful. Stories like that of the Tooth Fairy are meant to illustrate in a child-like way how incredibly wonderful life can be. We receive gifts and generosity and kindness and laughter and mischief and the promise of growth---all by simply asking, trusting, behaving, wishing and believing. The Tooth Fairy and the others are simply a loving way for parents to share that glimpse of life’s goodness with their children.”
As my sobbing continued—intensified by my man’s uncanny insight and wisdom---crying She-Twin then continued, “So wait, the Easter Bunny and…?”
“Well…” Double Daddy hesitated.
She-Twin let out a full-revelation acknowledgment wail. We all hugged and reinforced the spirit of those generous joy-bringers is very, very real. Naturally, any conversation of this ilk concludes with the lecture imperative on the need to keep this “truth” in house…letting other families address their conversations when it was their time…reminding her of how sad it was to hear from “someone else.”
After gathering our wits and regaining a semblance of composure, I went on upstairs to check on He-Twin, who surely had been listening.
“Hey Pumpkin, I guess you heard what all was going on downstairs.”
“About Santa?” he offered knowingly, with his typical I’m-seven-minutes-older maturity.
“Yes, she was pretty upset.”
“Wait, you mean Santa isn’t real?” he replied with perceptible lip tremble.
The whole heart-wrenching discourse was then replayed a second time for He-Twin’s benefit.
In many ways, parenting older twins is indeed, “easier.”
On that emotional evening of sequential Santa-squashing, not so much.
But this week, months later, with decorations all around, an envelope found its way to our hands---addressed to the North Pole.
Afterward, in true Tulip fashion, we found this slipped this under our pillow…
Think this will find a home in my jewelry box...right alongside my stash of sweet little baby teeth.
You can find this post and oodles of other fun holiday-centric reads at RichmondMom !
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