How Do You Do It?

Ever since I “announced” to the world that I was having twins over 4 years ago, I have been asked that question. (If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that, I might be able to send both girls to Notre Dame for college!) The frequency of this question increased dramatically after they were born and peaked about 2 years old.
My answer to the question is pretty much the same: “I just do.” (Variations may include: “I don’t know – I just do” or “We just do.”) I don’t have a magic wand or the perfect solution. I am not hiding a confidential document just for moms of multiples that gives us the all the secrets of motherhood.

In fact, most of the time I am not sure what I am doing! If you were to take a peek inside my world, you would probably notice a very messy house, girls who do not eat veggies, mismatched outfits and late nights. During the 1st 18 months (when they didn’t sleep through the night), all I could think about was making it through the day without a major disaster at home or work. It has gotten easier (or maybe I am just getting more sleep!), but as we often say “every day is an adventure!” And I have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it.

Often, you will catch me looking at other moms and thinking the same question. The main difference is that these moms have children of various ages. I remember a particular time where my cousin’s wife was feeding her little girl a bottle, while her 4 year old boy kept wanting her attention desperately. And all I could think of was “how do you balance a 4 year old boy with a newborn girl?”

At age 4, my girls typically enjoy the same games, activities, and movies. They take swimming, dance and horseback riding lessons together and play soccer on the same team. While there is the normal squabble about the ownership of a particular toy, they actually play pretty well together. Our worst moment came this summer when A was just tall enough to ride on a certain ride at Adventureland and B was not. Oh, the tears!!

I am not sure what will happen when each girl develops separate interests and the hubby and I start running opposite directions for band practices and basketball lessons. For now, I will just cherish that I can watch both girls beat each other up on the soccer field. LOL!

Now to go steal the secret rule book from a mom of a 4 year old boy and 1 ½ year old triplets!
Jean Anne