List of 5 Myths of Having Older Twins

   Recently, I have read blog posts about having twins and what it's like. Unfortunately, they mostly mentioned the "baby years." Now I'm not saying those weren't trying times, believe me they were, but am I the only mom of twins who thinks age 7 and up has been much harder? Changing double the diapers and packing the whole house for a 20 minute grocery store outing was a time in my life when blank stares occurred often and my right eye twitched on and off due to lack of sleep and constant worry. However, double the school supply list, and packing Lysol when entering their shared room is causing ill effects on me as well. People without twins have a blurred vision of what it's like. They often think it's easier because my children have each other to play with and be entertained. This is Myth #1 on my "List of 5 Myths of Having Older Twins." Yes, sometimes they DO get along and find a common interest for a small block of time but, it's always short lived when one starts being bossy or one loses interest.

   Myth #2- They can share clothes so I don't have to buy as much. That makes me laugh. Even if they were exactly the same size, shape, height, and weight they have different tastes, different styles. They aren't clones, they're twins. There's a difference.

   Myth #3- They can be on the same sports teams, dance teams, etc allowing me to only have to attend one game, one practice. Yes, that would be ideal if Avery had an ounce of desire to be a basketball player and about six more inches on her, and if Kenna had ANY rhythm whatsoever she could go to dance and therefore instead of four nights a week of practices, I would be home more, watching TV and sipping wine from an actual glass and not running through the drive thru of Chick-Fil-A at 8:00pm for chicken nuggets and sweet tea so we can eat in the car on the way home to avoid a 10:00pm bed time. (Teacher friends, I'm aware that was a HUGE run-on sentence).

   Myth #4- They can help each other in school. From what they tell me about school, I'm not sure they even make eye contact there, but at home during homework time it's a bitter fight between "I'm right and your wrong!" They always come up with different answers and one always finishes first and one always cries about it and it's serious DRAMA! If one doesn't understand the work and one does, in their minds, she's better, smarter, faster. EVERYTHING is a competition, right down to who can shower faster and who's feet are the least smelly. It's ridiculous.

   Myth #5- You get two for one. One first day of Kindergarten, one graduation, one birthday party. This is true I do get these things over with at once but they are twice as emotional for me! When my girls started school, they BOTH started school. When they turned ten they BOTH turned ten. It happened too fast! Double the kids does not equal double the time. I've had to find a balance between each child. If I sit at every basketball practice with Kenna, I must sit at every dance class with Avery. If Kenna enjoys making bracelets out of tiny rubber bands, I'm going to enjoy it too, and if Avery enjoys dancing to dramatic Disney songs, I will too. Because each of them are different. They were born together but SO far apart. I wasn't prepared for the growing up part and for Myth #6 (forgot one)- It gets easier. You may get more sleep, but it doesn't get any easier. The parts you consider hard just change into different things. So for all of those blog posts talking about how precious their twin babies are holding hands and sleeping snuggled up together, I've been there. I witnessed that too and I'm so lucky to have twins. Really. They are amazing. But let's get real, when the matching baby outfits get too small for them and they are asking for blinged out backpacks and hi-top sneakers it just won't be the same. #doublelove #staylittlelonger