I am a twin.  Did you know?  It’s pretty much the best!

(3 generations of twins: my mom’s mom, Gertrude, and her twin sister, my Great Aunt Shirley, my mom’s twin sisters, my Aunt Marty and Aunt Patty, and my mom’s twin daughter’s, me and Rachel)

Yesterday was a monumental day in the life of a twin.  It was the day that my twin sister, Rachel, abandoned me and moved to Boston.  For the first time in our lives we will be permanently living in different locations.  (We were apart twice in college when we did study abroad programs and I went to Paris and the next year she went to Washington D.C. but they were just 4 month’s each).  And Boston and Seattle?  On OPPOSITE sides of the country!?!  Sad, sad day!!!

So in honor of this catastrophic monumental day, here is, in my professional opinion, why being a twin is the best.

1. Even if I instigated 100% of the trouble (which admittedly there wasn’t a lot of) I only received 50% of the blame.  (And let’s be honest, I was always the instigator.  And yet everyone always believed me when I said it was her… mwhahaha).

2. Only a twin would be asked if I ever woke up and thought that I was my sister… come on people…I mean do you ever wake up and think that you are Brad Pitt?  Ok, well some people maybe do…

Oh and just to clarify, if I don’t want to take a test or go out with a particular guy, then neither does she… so no we never switched places.

3. We can read each others thoughts.  Ok not really.  But we do know each other so well that in many situations we can communicate with just a look because we know how the other would be thinking in that situation.   But this can happen with anyone that spends a lot of time with another person and talks a lot about what they think.

4.  Rarely does a day go by that we don’t text, talk on the phone or hang out.  (sidenote: After we had been married for about a year Vu confessed that before we got married he read a book about how to be married to a twin.  The answer: don’t try to understand it and don’t get in between it!)

5.  You have someone who shares your obsessions: waterfalls, lighthouses, bridges, rain, excel spreadsheet goal lists (but really her obsession with this one is much greater than mine), making things out of wood, photography, reading, traveling, maps, cooking, etc…

6. When we get in a fight, we are pretty much back to normal five minutes later.

7. I have a permanent best friend, travel buddy, confidant, and someone to go to things with.

8.  I hate driving and since we do/did so much together I rarely have/had to drive (I didn’t get my license until I was 17 and had to renew my driver’s permit 3 times because once Rachel got her license I saw no need to have my own).

9.  We can call each other with the intention of talking for 5 minutes and end up talking for 2 1/2 hours.

10.  I know that no matter what happens in my life, I will always have someone that will be there for me!  God knew what he was doing when he gave us each other!

And so, a picture ode to being a twin.  Because this is a hard day.

Awww, precious!   Anyone want to see if they can tell which is which in all of these pics? (Mom you are excluded, you too Chani)  But I mean it is obvious isn’t it?

One is the look of innocence.  One is not.

With older brother Andrew.

This one of us in the green shirts is the only one Vu couldn’t tell which one was me.  I think he was afraid to guess in case he got it wrong.

Socks with sandals.  Seriously 80’s.  Why.

Awesome Care Bear cakes my mom made.  There is a hint in this picture.

Traditional dresses from Switzerland, worn after we got baptized.  Loved that dress.

Double mint twins!!!

 

Twin hug!

One of my all time favorite vacations.  Seriously one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  And special guest Kelli.

Rachel’s graduation from UW with her Masters degree.

My wedding day, also with my mom and our younger sister Chani.