July 10, 2009. Western Head, N.S. Grandchildren.

Last evening I spoke with both Samantha and Allison on the telephone. They were at the lake, after spending the day at The Children's Museum in San Antonio. They were excited and chattered away about their summer and their activities. Right now they are enjoying being the only children at home, as Sarah and Abigail are at sleep-away camp. One of the charms of being a grandmother is that I can join in with their enthusiasms but do not need to either organize the activities nor worry about their response. Suzanne must set the plan in motion, then monitor to be sure this event is valuable for the child. I just talk and encourage and complement. And their enthusiasm is contagious. Those two little girls are very energetic and enthusiastic about everything they do. Their whole life is exciting. And of course it is, because almost everything is new to them. Two new tubes were purchased this year, and Allison told me how much better the new tube is over the old one. I did not say anything, but I wondered why a new tube could really be better than the old one, but she was clearly thrilled with the new ones. It is my guess that they will carry their enthusiasm and joy into all their tasks for the rest of their life. I certainly hope so, because it is an endearing quality.

Samantha and Allison are identical twins. They are seven years old. In identical bathing suits with hair soaking wet, they look absolutely identical, until they speak, then you know that Allison's voice is a bit lower than Samantha. And their personalities are different too. Now, they almost never wear the same clothes, and their hair styles are different. Once you know them apart, you can tell who is who. Suzanne has always been able to tell them apart, and so have I, but every so often you can get fooled. One day at school I was waiting for Suzanne, along with the twins and Sarah and a friend. The friend commented to Sarah that the twins do not seem identical. Sarah asked back to her friend "Which twin is Allison?', and of course, the friend had no idea. Both Allison and Samantha are good about correcting people when they are called the wrong name. They are polite, but I have heard them say many times "Actually, I am Allison." In the Fall, for the first time ever, the girls will be in different classes at school. Betty at work was a twin, and she told me that when she was separated from her twin at school, she cried every day all day for a week, and so did her twin. Then they decided to get over it and they never cried again. Allison and Samantha are ready to be in different classes I think, at least they cheerfully tell me all about it. The reason for the different classes is that Allison prompts Samantha with the answer, or she will answer for Samantha, so the teacher thought that Allison knew more than Samantha. But the standardized test were taken this Spring, and much to every ones surprise Allison and Samantha had identical scores and had identical tests. They sat a long way away from each other too . So I guess we should stop being surprised, because they are identical!! What we do know now is that Allison is quicker on the uptake. These grandchildren provide me a whole host of blessings and will for the rest of my life.