Another Year

Another Year

By Allan Olson

As the old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Well, this much I know is true. Time truly does fly by when you have children.

This weekend my twins will finally be five. I’m not sure where all that time went. It seems not that long ago, we were trying to feed two infants at the same time, and while some aspects of that haven’t changed (we’re still usually feeding them at the same time), now the process is simplified – they can fork the food in by themselves.

Of course, as they’ve aged, they seem to require more food. At some meals, they manage to polish off more than I do myself.

While there were some benefits to them being infants, the older ages far outweigh those few. Abigail, while seemingly clueless most days going about her business, always hears far more than it appears.

She has already offered her babysitting services for her youngest cousin, who is all of a week old. That is a big step for a five-year-old. She, of course, was serious about the offer, while the rest of us laughed at her suggestion. 

She is full on into the girly mode, too, always looking for something for her hair, or nail polish for her fingers. But that doesn’t stop her from hitting the mud puddle when the occasion arises.

The days are never dull when hanging out with Abigail. The days of her as an infant, while quieter, were never quite this entertaining (although some of those infant days came close).

And then we have her counterpart – Marcus.

He was the quiet, soulful one as an infant, seldom very fussy. Now he is the comedian, since apparently every family needs to have one. That said, some things haven’t changed much from his infant days, when we titled him Mr. Serious because he took everything cautiously, including his first steps. These days, when he’s not being our funny man, he is still being the more serious one of the pair, especially when it comes to learning about something new.

Lately, because of his older brother’s influence, he is into dinosaurs – something about which I know little, and honestly don’t care to learn. He is also the one who will quietly sit and absorb the information while his sister will go off into her own world and learn in her own way, all the while giving the impression that she’s not paying attention.
    In all, they both have the capability to drive us crazy in many different ways, but overall and most importantly, they are happy and healthy.

Last weekend, yard work was on the list of things to do. I knew it would take all my resolve to not put this off for another week (or six), so I got motivated (sort of) on Saturday and headed out to mow the “hayfield” in my backyard. I managed to get the majority of the lawn done in between a nap and meals, and resumed the activity on Sunday.

That evening, under much pressure from the kids and with the lawn ready for the upcoming birthday party (hopefully the weather cooperates), we had a bonfire in our backyard, complete with S’mores and all.
This weekend, our house will be in party mode as we celebrate another milestone – five years ago we could not fathom how we were going to handle raising twins. Now, after five years, we still survive and wouldn’t for a second go back and be without them – although a babysitter now and then is always helpful.