Yin-Yang

This past week, Ana was student of the week.  The teachers put up a picture of Keira.
They’re fraternal twins.   

They do not look alike.

“They’re SO DIFFERENT!”

That is usually the comment that I get about the girls.  People expect that twins will be the same in looks and personality. 

To begin with, my girls are fraternal.  So, although they were born at the same time, they were created by two separate eggs.  They are siblings born at the same time.  They’re even physically different… Ana is short, muscular, dark hair, and dark blue eyes.  Keira is taller, lanky, blond hair, and light blue eyes.

Secondly, I can tell you that identical twins ARE IN FACT DIFFERENT PEOPLE.  My nephews are identical and are two very different personalities.  Their separate personalities and likes are actually making them develop differently.  Eric is starting to bulk up with weight lifting.  Sean is a lean runner.  Just to review… even identical twins are different people.

Now,  when you raise two people (from the same parents) in the same environment (and at the SAME TIME), you would EXPECT similarities.  Genetics and the study of epigenomes have taught us that very fact!  That is not the case here.

My girls are night and day.   

Morning person, night person.   

Chocolate and vanilla.   

Barbies and Spiderman.   

Anastasia spends her time coloring and Keira spends her time finding bugs… I am forced to make a package of vanilla and chocolate pudding for dessert, since neither likes the other sibling’s choices.

One would think that they were intentionally picking the opposite of their sister to be “different”… but no.  I’ve watched them for 5 years.  They are really just the Yin-Yang of siblings.   

They were even in the “Yin-Yang” position in the womb.  

I am just amazed as other people when I see the extreme differences in my children. 
They are, in fact, so very different.