“Who’s Stronger?”

Cuddlebug: “Hey, Mom, how old am I?”

Me: (thinking he must be asking something else because he knows how old he is) “What do you mean?”

Cuddlebug: “Am I older than ‘Bearhug’?”

Me: (aha, so that’s the real question, although we’ve actually talked about this one before) “You were born two minutes before ‘Bearhug’, yes.”

Call me crazy, but the whole concept of “older” and “younger” twins has never really made sense to me since birth order is a matter of location (ie. who’s closest to the “exit”), and not really a matter of “age,” per se. Especially in the case of identical twins, as my boys are, who are literally conceived in the exact same moment. So I prefer to say “born first / second.”

Cuddlebug: “Then why is ‘Bearhug’ stronger than me?”

(sigh, so they got over the “who’s bigger” thing and now it’s “who’s stronger?”)

Me: “um… aren’t you both the same ‘strong’?”

Cuddlebug: “No!”

Bearhug (at the same time, in a matter-of-fact tone): “No, I’m more powerful.”

Cuddlebug: “Yeah, he is. Hey, I thought I was ten minutes older!”

Me: “No, it was two. But it’s not a big deal. And it’s not a big deal who’s stronger because you’re both strong.”

They seemed unconvinced, but they moved on to talking about dinosaurs and dragons and other such things.

3runningcircles

I’m a mom of three boys on the autism spectrum — 11-yr-old id twins and their 7-yr-old little brother — and wife to my dh of 19 yrs who is a SAHD. My blog is where I share our story, as well as topics relating to autism awareness & acceptance, twins, the silliness three little boys can get into, and whatever else is on my mind. Hopefully some of what we’ve learned over the years is helpful to others (or at least entertaining).