Built In Best Friend

When people ask me, as they often do, "do they play nice together?" I can honestly reply with a yes. Sure, there are times when one wants the same toy as the other and a bit of a tug-of-war ensues. But, for the most part our days are spent pretty peacefully. It's usually 2 (them) against 1 (me) in most of our battles.

They really are each other's best friend, even at the tender age of 3. It makes me so happy to see how they take care of one another and look out for each other. Jillian is the mother hen for sure. Today, as I was dropping my grandmother off from a shopping excursion, Max began to cry because Mammam Dora left the car before he could say good-bye. "Don't cry, honey," Jillian said trying to soothe him. A few weeks ago, in an effort to get Max to clean up his toys, my dad threatened Max by "taking" one of his toys and pretending to give it to another boy. Jillian chased my dad down saying, "Pappap, that's Max's toy. Give it back to him."

Max is Jillian's chivalrous protector. He does nice things for her like waiting until she gets in the Monster Truck Jeep before driving away. (I tell her, it's safer to be in the car with him then out in the open with him driving around!) On the playground, he watches out for her to be sure she's safe. And soon, we'll start teaching Max what to do when a boy wants Jillian's phone number. Let's just say Mark has him watching UFC nightly (I kid, but it's coming!).

Joking aside, I feel so lucky to have these twins when I listen to their conversations about nothing - they really do get each other; when I see them play together and share; when they walk around holding hands; when they play "you be the mommy and I'll be the daddy"; when they settle in for the night, resting their head on each other's shoulder.

Today I talked to someone who has 16 year old boy/girl twins. She reassured me, saying it gets easier after 3. But most importantly, she told me how her twins are still best friends. I pray every night that they do remain as close as they are now for their lifetime. And, how lucky they are to get to live their lives with a built in best friend!