My Version of "Twins"

Did you ever see the movie "Twins" that starred Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well I live my own version of that movie every single day.

See these two girls? They are my daughters. They are full-blooded sisters and they are as opposite as night and day.

We had to do fertility treatments to get all our kids so some people who have known about this, and hadn't seen us for a few years and then saw us with two little girls, just assumed that one of them was adopted. They really don't look too much alike.

That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Here's where the "Twins" part comes in.

It's their personalities. I think if you put all their personality traits, good and not so good, in a big bowl and mixed it all up, you would come up with, well, me.

Morgan has all my qualities that are easy to get along with and Ally has, how do I put this delicately, my more "interesting" qualities. That's right. Morgan is the Arnold character and Ally is the Danny DeVito character, but not as extreme. (I'm going to hope that Ally doesn't ever see the movie or that by then she can look back on these days and have a really good sense of humor.) It's strange, because I can see different personality traits that I have had at different points in my life in them both. Traits I have had and tried, and sometimes succeeded, to overcome.

Morgan is quiet, likes to spend time by herself, is happy spending all day on her bed reading and really tries to get along with everyone. She is not a drama queen. At all. Morgan likes to do nice things for other people and she is a straight A student. I've never, ever had to push her to do her homework. She is very responsible, like I've learned to become. She, also like me, does not like to get up in front of other people to perform. She does, however like to be in plays, which is where that similarity ends. You couldn't pay me enough money to do that. Morgan is a "long hair" girl. I've been known to cry a little (ok, a lot) if a haircut turns out even an inch too short. Morgan is cute with and nice to her little brother pretty much most of the time. I practically raised my last two brothers. Morgan and I have the most similar taste in movies and books, so when we are the only two people home, we have a little party and watch a video and eat treats and just enjoy being home alone together without dealing with "the others". Morgan has a sharp wit but keeps it hidden from most people. Morgan is quiet and likes quiet and she actually likes being good.

Ally, like me, can drive people nuts sometimes. She also has a cutting wit but doesn't hesitate to use it. Sometimes she has no internal editing tool (I'm very guilty also). She has come up with every way possible to beat the system when it comes to homework (ok, so we both have a history of doing literally nothing in a given class and just waiting to see if the consequences will catch up to us. They did.). Ally is my more lively side that only a few people get to see. She, like me, is an expert at getting herself into an awkward situation. That's why I will have many more funny story posts on Ally than Morgan. Ally likes to stand out, but then sometimes doesn't know what to do with herself when she is the center of attention. She (this is unlike me - really!) is DRAMA with a capital D. She is my, um, how do I put this, less motivated, messy self. Ally has most of the qualities I have fought hard to overcome over the years. But. She is so hilarious that I am cracked up on a daily basis. And when she is good, she can be the most pleasant person in the world. And she isn't afraid to scrub a toilet every now and then. Morgan wouldn't touch a toilet with a ten foot pole (except to use it, of course). Ally likes loud music and doesn't care who she annoys with it. (Um, I may have been known to blast a stereo back in the day.)

For the record here, they have actually switched places. From the time they were little babies, until the terrible twos were over (at age 4), Morgan was a terror. She was mean and cranky and just plain hard to get along with in general. Ally was a sweet, happy, quiet little child who then turned terrible two and just hasn't outgrown it yet. (We are still holding out hope.)

Over the years I have learned to stop treating them as "the girls" and deal with them as separate, very different, growing individuals. I have also tried to separate my feelings about myself when I am dealing with their different quirks. Sometimes I actually succeed.