The twins look as different to each other on the outside as they are to each other on the inside. Often when I was pregnant I would ask my husband what our babies would look like. He would tell me, "one will look like you, and one will look like me." He could not have been more right ( yes, this may be the only moment I admit openly that my husband was right about something).  Hannah is outgoing, verbose, with a flair for drama that matches her bright red hair and green eyes. Rachel is quieter (unless she is upset), loves to spend time by her self, and doesn't care what other people think. Rachel also has Asperger's Syndrome, an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. I always say the girls are my yin and yang.  When they were babies, they rarely napped at the same time. You could actually watch the phenomena of one child waking up just as the other was closing her eyes.

My youngest, Shayna, is blonde, spunky, and has no fear. She will stand up to either one of her big sisters until they back down from her. Shayna is a tweenrager-in-training at age four. When she was born, I was so excited to have a baby again. That lasted for about two years. Suddenly before I could even blink, she was singing along to Hannah Montana and poo-pooing Sesame Street. She has been "engaged" to Jack since the two-year old room at preschool.  Technically I have two tweens, but Shayna is watching and learning from the professionals.

Yesterday morning Hannah told me, "My life is a tragedy!"  This evening Rachel told me her life was over because she had to read a book for school.  Tonight as I was getting Shayna ready for bed, I heard the third dramatic proclamation within 24 hours "My life is not fair!"

My life is a soap opera.

©2011 Amy E. Silverstein. All rights reserved.