First of all, the concept of twins is so cool to me. You've got two babies growing in a tiny little-confined space normally meant for just one. Then they're born at the same time and share a percentage of genetic traits. Identical twins share 99.9% percent of their DNA, and fraternal twins share 50%.
I am lucky enough to not only have twins in my immediate family but to have healthy twins in my family. There can be a lot of complications during a pregnancy with twins, but my family was able to welcome two very healthy siblings into my household. As the oldest of four, I was more than excited when I found that out that I was not only going to have another sibling but both a brother and a sister. I was only 5 years old when they were born and my brother was two, but we were so excited to help pick the names of our new siblings.
Twins actually run in my family, which is something that I love sharing with people because it's pretty unique to have 2 sets of twins in my family. My uncle has twins that are fraternal boy and girl as well. They're older than I am and when I was little, it was fun to get a taste of what it was like to be around twins before they were introduced into my immediate family.
As the oldest sibling, living with twins who are the youngest siblings is a really unique thing that not many people get to experience. My brother and sister don't look that much alike to me, and it's interesting that when people find out there are twins in my family, they often mistake my two brothers for the twins. They're always surprised when we tell them that the twins are actually my sister and younger brother. Growing up, my brother and sister didn't do many things together that identical twins might do like dressing in the same clothes, doing the same activities, having the same group of friends, etc.
No one ever confused them for each other because they're fraternal boy and girl and have different hobbies. If anything, my mom would dress my sister and I the same and then my brothers as well. The only thing they really did together was play on the same sports teams when they were young and have joint birthday parties for their first few birthdays.
Now that my brother and sister are 16 years old, it's been quite an experience getting to see them grow up and become closer. They have begun to mesh their friend groups and it's fun to see them hang out together more. Being on the same soccer and hockey teams growing up, they were surrounded by the same teammates and coaches, and now that they're on separate teams and have different experiences, it's cool to see them now hanging out in the same friend groups and getting to experience high school together.
Everyone knows that there has to be equality among siblings in the family, but with twins, it's emphasized even more and is more apparent. Regardless of twins being identical or fraternal, everything has to be split evenly: your time spent with them, your affection towards them, gifts, activities… everything. Both of my siblings just got their learner's permits at the same time, which is a huge landmark for both of them. It seems like even more important now that there are two of them who have completed this milestone.
I've always been somewhat jealous of my siblings being twins. It's like having a built-in best friend that you're more connected with than your other siblings. Of course, you're still close with your other siblings, but there's just something special about being a twin. They have a special connection that only twins seem to have. They can sense when something is off with the other. They always know they will have each other's backs and be there for each other.
