"Stand Back 500 Feet"

Day 6.

While driving today Sara and I saw the following sign on the back of a vehicle: 'Stand Back 500 Feet." My first thought was, "We should have a sign like that on the stroller." It seems like if you have one baby, people give you a smile and a nod, but if you have twins, apparently a miracle that matches the virgin birth has occurred and people want to get as close as possible to take it all in.

People lose all sense of boundaries with twins. They ask personal questions, they reach in to touch their feet, and they give advice on how we should raise them. Then you have the people who just ask stupid questions, questions like "Are they twins?" or "Are they both girls?" Perhaps they are just being polite, but any thoughtful person could easily tell that two lookalike babies wearing pink and purple with bows in their hair are definitely twin girls. There are also the 'storyteller' encounters where people proceed to tell us of how they know someone with twins, yet it always seems to be a very complicated family situation and it leads to an awkward moment where we're not sure how to respond.

Each of these occurrences could easily be avoided if people followed the simple rule "Stand Back 500 Feet." And this rule not only applies now when Grace and Kate are babies but also will apply when boys start to have the desire to date my daughters. That's a different blog post for a different day.

So here's my plea: the next time you see a mom or dad with a double stroller, just smile. Don't get too close and don't overstep the boundaries listed above. Don't mention that your second cousin's sister-in-law also has twins. Don't give any advice because unless you have twins, you don't really know what it's like to raise them. Be respectful of their space and don't touch their feet! Don't ask dumb questions; just give a simple smile and let them go about their day. It will literally make their day!

Daddy with his two beautiful girls!

Grace likes to wear hats like daddy!