Our poor mother endured a discomforting pregnancy before my twin brother and I were born, eventually pushing out two nine-pound babies, feet first. It was a good thing we were the last two of five children for our parents, as they may have wanted to give up on having more children if we had been the first.
Growing up as an identical twin was a lot of fun. We would spend our youth swapping places and fooling people about who was who. We went through school together and played all the same sports. Though we always wore the same clothes, we never wore the same colour. A credit to our mother, who never wanted us to look like bookends, so she made us wear different colours.
After turning eighteen, our lives went on different paths. My twin brother joined the Air Force, and I went off to study teaching at university. Since that time, we have never lived in the same city, and our lives have been very different ever since. It was like our twin bond was broken forever.
People often ask if we are close or whether we feel each other's pain. The answer is no. Over the years, we have shared little or nothing in common. A result of having met different life partners, living in separate locations and different careers.
My twin is a glimpse of an alternate reality for me. An insight into my life that could have been very different had I made other choices when I was younger. It's not that my alternate reality is terrible. It is just different.
Growing up as an identical twin was a lot of fun. We would spend our youth swapping places and fooling people about who was who. We went through school together and played all the same sports. Though we always wore the same clothes, we never wore the same colour. A credit to our mother, who never wanted us to look like bookends, so she made us wear different colours.
After turning eighteen, our lives went on different paths. My twin brother joined the Air Force, and I went off to study teaching at university. Since that time, we have never lived in the same city, and our lives have been very different ever since. It was like our twin bond was broken forever.
People often ask if we are close or whether we feel each other's pain. The answer is no. Over the years, we have shared little or nothing in common. A result of having met different life partners, living in separate locations and different careers.
My twin is a glimpse of an alternate reality for me. An insight into my life that could have been very different had I made other choices when I was younger. It's not that my alternate reality is terrible. It is just different.