Mistaken Identity

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins & More

BY: Elaine A. Lederman

She glances at the photo, and the pilot light of memory flickers in her eyes.
~Frank Deford

As a mom of identical twin girls, I am always on the lookout for those amazing twin moments -- times when the special connection between the girls becomes apparent to the outside world.

I was sorting through a box of photos recently when four-year-old Naomi joined me. We enjoyed looking at the numerous baby photos of my oldest daughter, Sophia, and the twins. However, in many of the photos of the twins, I was unable to tell who was who, as I had not labeled them. But, much to my surprise, Naomi was able to point things out to me.

"That's Naomi, and that's Jillian," she said confidently as we looked at one that had me stumped. So I picked out another one in which the girls looked (to me) exactly the same. Again, Naomi pointed out herself and her sister without any hesitation.

We then sorted through the whole box this way, as I quickly scribbled an "N" or a "J" on each photo. "Wow!" I thought to myself. "She really knows the difference between herself and her sister. That must be part of the twin connection." Not only was I thrilled to witness this display of "twinness," but I was excited that I was able to finally label the photos. (Clearly, I was delirious in thinking I would ever get around to putting them into albums.) And Naomi seemed very proud of herself for being such a smart girl and helping Mommy.

As we continued to dig through the pile, we came upon a photo of a friend with her two dogs. Without missing a beat, Naomi pointed at the dogs and announced with great authority, "That's Naomi, and that's Jillian." She then methodically went through every other photo in the box, naming anyone and everyone Naomi and Jillian. Oh, well....

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