Twin Day
As I have aged, I've met several people who share my birthday (shoutout to Donna, Scot, March, Harry, Crash, and Andy). But when you are younger, the idea that someone is born on "your" day is a new one, and when I met my "twin" Kelly when we were both in our early teens (or were we even younger?), having a birthday twin was a true novelty.
We've spent our lives telling unsuspecting people we were twins, actually. "Yeah, she's older, by about 6 hours. It was a long labor. Our mom even changed states." Or the always popular "Identical, of course. Why do you ask?"
But here's also the thing. It also means I've known Kelly for a long time, and to some extent, that "twin-ness" is not a lie. I've known him since he was a kind of gawky, nerdy kid who took way too many risks because he was simultaneously incredibly confident and fairly insecure. I've seen him excel at many, many things he loves (ok, and fail miserably at some too, because that's part of it), until he found just the right fit. I have seen him love a woman so thoroughly and passionately that I cannot imagine his life with her. I have seen him come to peace with a complicated family that he also loves fiercely and closely.
While these may all seem like very different endeavors, they are in some ways all the same. One of the reasons I love Kelly so much is that the flame that burns inside of him and keeps him going — his core values — burns as bright and the same in him so many years later. It's one of the things that's kept our friendship so true, though we are way way way past talking on the phone for hours at night and ignoring the call-waiting beeps coming through.
So happy birthday, twin. I'm so lucky to have you in my life!
(And I can't find any old photos. Isn't that pathetic?)
We've spent our lives telling unsuspecting people we were twins, actually. "Yeah, she's older, by about 6 hours. It was a long labor. Our mom even changed states." Or the always popular "Identical, of course. Why do you ask?"
But here's also the thing. It also means I've known Kelly for a long time, and to some extent, that "twin-ness" is not a lie. I've known him since he was a kind of gawky, nerdy kid who took way too many risks because he was simultaneously incredibly confident and fairly insecure. I've seen him excel at many, many things he loves (ok, and fail miserably at some too, because that's part of it), until he found just the right fit. I have seen him love a woman so thoroughly and passionately that I cannot imagine his life with her. I have seen him come to peace with a complicated family that he also loves fiercely and closely.
While these may all seem like very different endeavors, they are in some ways all the same. One of the reasons I love Kelly so much is that the flame that burns inside of him and keeps him going — his core values — burns as bright and the same in him so many years later. It's one of the things that's kept our friendship so true, though we are way way way past talking on the phone for hours at night and ignoring the call-waiting beeps coming through.
So happy birthday, twin. I'm so lucky to have you in my life!
(And I can't find any old photos. Isn't that pathetic?)
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