Double Duty: Raising Twins In A Military Family

Last Sunday I celebrated my very first Mother’s Day ever, and I have to say—it felt ah-MAY-zing! Sure, I have other “special” days—my birthday, anniversary, etc.—but this day was in recognition of me being a mom to these two special little boys. And I honestly cannot think of a better reason to celebrate.

Matt and Nate bought me an iPad for Mother’s Day (I think Dad may have helped finance it) as well as roses and lilies. But my favorite gifts by far were the “cards” they made me. Yes, I think the crayon scribbles are masterpieces, but the reason I love them so much is that they really illustrate each boy’s unique personality.

Matt’s scribbles, done with a light hand, are kind of haphazard. You can see that he hurriedly pushed the crayon back and forth. Nate’s, on the other hand, were done very deliberately. The lines are much darker and broken up. This shows that he held the crayon tight, pressed down on the page, and carefully drew each line.

This is the way the twins go about almost everything they do. Take eating, for instance. I’ll spread small pieces of food out on their high-chair trays. Matt will palm three or four pieces of food at a time and shove them into his mouth. Nate will use his pincer grasp to carefully pick up one piece at a time between his thumb and forefinger and place it into his mouth. You can almost see him thinking about which piece of food to eat next.

When it comes to play time, Matt does not typically use things for their intended purposes. When playing with his shape sorter, he’ll dump all the shapes onto the floor, then bang the shapes together. He’ll turn boxes or his play table into push toys and tap on stacking blocks with his hands as if they are drums. Nate, on the other hand, will play with toys so carefully. He’ll spend a few minutes fitting the star into its proper slot on the shape sorter, stand quietly at the play table and push each button, and fit the stacking blocks into each other before pulling them out again.

I am not sure what these drawing, eating, and playing styles say about the twins’ personalities. Does Matt’s style mean he’ll be a problem solver, an adventurer, a rule breaker, and a “think outside the box” kind of guy? Does Nate’s mean he’ll be a critical thinker, a person who looks before he leaps, a stickler for rules, and someone who will stick to the status quo? Who knows, but I truly love that they are so different and have little minds of their own! They’re like Goofus and Gallant from Highlights for Kids magazine!

But back to Mother’s Day: The best part of the day was simply getting to spend it with my babies and my wonderful husband. I didn’t worry about work, laundry, or running errands. I just enjoyed every single moment with my family. We went to a buffet brunch at the Officer’s Club at Peterson Air Force Base, and while it was nothing fancy, it was absolutely perfect. We got to linger at our table for two hours and smile proudly as the other diners stopped to coo at the boys. The twins sat in high chairs like big boys and ate everything I put in front of them—eggs, green beans, fruit, and chicken. They smiled and laughed the whole time.

After brunch, we came back home and played in the play room for two hours, uninterrupted. We indulged the boys by doing whatever they wanted—playing the same musical toy and reading the same book over and over again, pushing the balls back and forth, and making a total mess.

Next, we went and bought  flowers for our deck. Since I don’t seem to have inherited my mom’s green thumb, I bought pre-arranged, potted flowers—and they look beautiful.

Then we came home and gave the boys baths, letting them splash for as long as they wanted. After they went to bed, I indulged in an hour-long bubble bath, then sat on the couch with Keith and watched the two-hour series finale of Desperate Housewives. Oh, and I ate ice cream for dinner.

Needless to say, the day was perfect. (The only thing that would have made it even more perfect was if I had gotten to spend it with my mom, too.) On Mother’s Day, I was the most relaxed Keith said he has ever seen me since the boys were born, and that’s because I allowed myself to just be and to soak in every thrilling moment with the babies and Keith. Of course, it’s unrealistic to think I can do this every day. After all, I’ve got errands to run, dinners to cook, butts to wipe, and stories to write. But the day truly reminded me how important it is to sometimes just let that all go, take some deep breaths, count my blessings, and enjoy my life.

To all the moms out there … Happy Belated Mother’s Day! Hope your day was as wonderful as mine!