The Twin-Thing

Phil & Andy

Most days, I don't even think about being married to a twin...unless I'm around their mother who loves to talk about them or...they're together.  And we've been together quite a bit lately. They also just celebrated their 64th birthday yesterday.  So the twin-thing has been on my mind.

The Dietz family met last month at a campground in Oklahoma for a few days.  It was the first time in about eight years we'd all been together.  Our kids don't even think about their dad and his twin's idiosyncrasies.  They've grown up with it.  Oh, we might laugh occasionally when we're together and Andy & Phil really get going.  They do so many things just alike.  But it's normal to us...we've watched it for many years.  It's not until there's a new member in the family that it stands out again.  So this reunion was no exception.  Our daughter-in-law, Shanna, hadn't been around Phil. And Zach & Shanna's kids had never seen him.  Dax is three-years-old and we could tell he was a little confused with Phil being there.  He still knew his "Pot" and would stare at Phil and walk around him cautiously.  Of course, Andy & Phil tested him quite a bit.  Gus, on the other hand, who just turned two, couldn't really tell the difference.  He was easily confused.  He went to both indiscriminately and was perfectly content with either.

It's always fun to see the twin-thing through fresh eyes.  Shanna just sat and observed Andy & Phil and laughed behind her hand throughout most of the reunion.  She'd never seen them in action.  She couldn't believe they had the same hand motions, the same voice, the same humor.  She would laugh telling me things she had observed.  And they feed off of each other.  It's just funny seeing one of them times two!

I remember when our first granddaughter met Phil.  She was only two and was a little confused.  But she quickly figured them out.  She had always called Andy "Pops."  When she learned Phil was an uncle, she began calling him "Uncle Pops."  Since Dax calls Andy "Pot," Shanna was trying to get him to call Phil "Pan."  Ha!

It's always interesting seeing the twin-thing through new eyes.  Happy birthday, Andy & Phil!