Twins double the fun, double the work
Aug. 3—Ahead of an international celebration of multiples, local residents are talking what it's like to raise twins — and to be one.
Coined the "largest annual gathering of twins and multiples in the world" by the Guinness Book of World Records," The Twins Days Festival takes place Aug. 4-6 this year in Twinsburg, Ohio, and features contests, activities, and a "Double Take" parade.
Twins often draw a lot of attention from other people, but what's it like being part of a pair?
"Growing up with a twin brother was great," said area resident Jospeh McClure. "Of course, everywhere that my brother [Roger] and I would go, people would always ask if we were twins, but as you get older, you get used to the questions that people would ask," said Joseph. "My brother is still my best friend to this day."
Joseph and Roger coach Hulbert Lady Riders basketball together as head and assistant coach, respectively. As Roger told the Daily Press in March, the two had always dreamed of coaching together someday.
"We had to start out at different places, but we keep our childhood of someday coaching together," said Roger. "Then finally, we got back together in our hometown, and it's great. We get along really well together."
There are several types of twins, but most common are identical twins, where one fertilized egg splits and produces two babies with the same genetics, and fraternal twins, where two eggs are fertilized by two sperm to produce to babies with different genetics.
Chrissi Nimmo, Cherokee Nation assistant attorney general and Tahlequah Public Schools Board president, is mother to Emmy and nearly 9-year-old twins Mattie and James.
"The funniest is people asking if they are 'identical' since they are opposite sex; the answer is obviously no, but it is still common. Also, lots of people say things like 'twins run in the family,'" said Nimmo. "The only genetic predisposition to twins is the mother being predisposed — genetically or environmentally, as the older you are the more likely you are to have twins — to fraternal twins. Dad's genetics don't really impact the likelihood of twins, and identical twins are a random occurrence with no genetic or environmental predisposition identified."
Nimmo said raising twins was very hard at first, but it gets easier every day.
"Our twins were our first children, so we always joke that we didn't know any better, and we don't remember the first six months because we never slept," said Nimmo. "We were fortunate because both my husband and I had jobs where we could take paid [Family and Medical Leave Act ] leave. We also depended a lot on friends and family to help in those early days. I don't think we had to cook a meal for the first two months!"
Nimmo said the best part of having twins is that Mattie and James have a built-in best friend for life.
"I think the toughest is having two who are the exact same age and in the same grade so you tend to compare everything: Developmental milestones, [as] they walked and got their first teeth months apart; academic success; friend groups; interests, etc. It was also really tough separating them in school for the first time." she said. "Weirdly, my twins rarely refer to themselves as twins or call their sibling their twin; typically they just say 'my brother' or 'my sister,' but almost everyone else, including us, refers to to them as 'the twins.'
For her and her husband, Nimmo said there is also a built-in camaraderie with other twin parents.
"'I have twins, too' is all you have to say, and there is an instant understanding," she said.
When it comes down to it, Nimmo finds her twins are "twice the work, but twice the love" and said she wouldn't change it for the world.
"It also made our third, single child feel like the easiest baby ever," she said.
