I am the younger of identical twins. My twin sister Kim, is half an hour older than me. We looked very much alike when we
were younger.
But we never seemed able to fool our mother unless we stood behind her and spoke.
Growing up with a another person who looks and sounds like you might sound like fun, but it isn't always.
As a twin, it can get a bit tiresome when people confuse you with your sibling and annoying when they call you the wrong name.
But eventually you get used to it.
One thing I really didn't like was being called 'Twinnie'.
People seemed to think it was funny, but I didn't... I found it quite demeaning.
Of course there was a plus side to being a twin as well.
With a twin, you not only get a sibling, but a friend for life. Someone who understands what you are going through, because
they are going through the same thing.
One thing that Kim and I used to get asked a lot about is the 'Twin Connection'.
That special bond that all twins seem to have.
Kim and I have always been close, and that special bond has always been there.
One of the weird aspects for us was the shared pain.
Allow me to explain...
My twin sister was quite accident prone when we were young. She was always hurting herself.
She broke her wrist. She fractured her arm. She even got fluid under her knee cap!
I never really got any serious injuries myself, but I did get to "enjoy" some of my sisters pain!
I tell you- it's quite weird not being injured, but still feeling the pain, because your twin is injured!
Perhaps the weirdest story with this weird 'Shared Twin Pain' connection was one time when I went shopping with my mom.
I had just bought new boots, and when I stepped on the bus I slipped.
When I slipped, I hit my shoulders on the top step, and landed hard on the bottom step. It hurt not only my pride, but my
shoulders as well.
My mom helped me up. I said to her 'Thats definitely going to leave a bruise tomorrow'.
Well, to my surprise, there was no bruise at all the next day. Not even a mark!
I thought to myself 'Wow, I was really lucky to get away with that one!'
Then the phone rang... it was my twin sister.
She asked me what I did yesterday, so I told her everything.
She said when she woke up, she had a pain across her shoulders.
She went to look in the mirror. She had a large mark across the top of her shoulders, and had no idea how it got there!
We've had similar incidents our entire lives, but that was perhaps the funniest one.
Hard to believe? Well just don't be surprised if something similar happens to a twin you know!