730 Days Ago...

This "the days are long, but the years fly by" business that older women love to quote is turning out to be quite true. It is hard to believe that a mere 730 days ago we were being admitted into the hospital to begin the delivery of the two best surprises of our lives:

 

 

Born before and after the midnight hour, our identical twin boys were each given their own birthday. This was not by our design, but God's. True to form, the second-born of the twins did not rush out, but rather carefully took his time. (I was happily under the influence of the Epidural, administered by the eldest anesthesiologist on the team who I dreamily asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a remarkable resemblance to Harrison Ford?". He liked the question. Because of it, he was very attentive to my level of comfort from there on out. Curt started to get nervous in when I looked ready to plant a kiss on those Ford-like lips).

(And they told me I was "all belly" during that pregnancy. I had such kind little liars in my life.) You might detect a controlled sense of panic lying beneath the surface in this picture. The eldest-the son to right of me- had just turned three that July.

Although the early portion of these past 730 days is already densely foggy in my memory,

I will say being the mama of these twins has been such a gift, as it has been with all the others. If I have to take any of the children out while running errands, it's usually the twins. I am always asked if they are twins ("Nope. Three years apart. I just dress their identical looking bodies the same for the heck of it". That's the answer I give in my head) AND I am told that I have my hands full. They have no idea. And they have no idea that the twins, of all of them, have been EASIER in a way. They have each other, and that bond pacifies like nothing else.

These boys are most like their dad of all these little ones. Laid back and steady, there is not one who is remarkably different than the other. While they have learned to fight well to stake their claim amongst the other children, they also are affectionate, laugh readily  and prefer their father over me any day of the week.

Last night we celebrated their birthdays in our usual no-fuss, just-us type birthday party.

As I looked back over the pictures this morning, I realized just how true the sentiment I wrote at the beginning of this post really is.  Time is not meandering. It is marching.

This is no time to pine for future seasons of life, for as I now know, 730 days are not as endless as they seem during certain 24-hour segments.

On another note, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your entries in the 400th Post Giveaway and am honored for all of you who have participated!! Tomorrow at noon the giveaway ends, so feel free to add your name to the drawing before then!

"If the day I came out of your belly is called my birth day,

what is the day I went in called?"

-Rio, age 4 from "B.You" booklet included in the cute play cellphone toy I bought the boys at Target.