Twins and Puberty - How WE survived!

When we were in middle school, we started showing signs of puberty.  First came the much needed purchase of our first bras with mom.  We both sighed with relief the first morning that we bounced down the staircase at our house while heading for a.m. breakfast on the first floor.  We felt kind of cool too.  (Goobers still, but cool :):)  
But life was a little messy in our world at this time.  Our parents were on the verge of divorce and there was an inconsistency as to which parent was living with us at the time.  So puberty questions started to get put on the back-burner and overlooked by the chaos of life and we were sort of on our own.  
Now, being twin girls, we both had received the in-school, 6th grade "talk" about puberty.  This gave us a basic idea of what to expect when the "change" came but the video we watched was a bit outdated and I know that it definitely confused me a little.  I mean, what was a "pad-belt"? Anyone else remember these?  It was a belt that held the pad in place unlike the self-adhesive ones today. Those were gone in the late 70's/early 80's so they did not exist anymore in our world.  And I thought, "Hey, I have seen commercials.  Don't pads just stick like stickers now?"  But being a clueless, naive little bugger at the time, I also assumed they stuck to me, not my underpants (I know, "What a ding dong" - LOL.)
So here we are on the cusp of pubescence with little guidance and information from the adults around us.  Having a twin at this time in my life was irreplaceable and the biggest relief possible.  I knew it was inevitable that we would have to go through this life stage, or at least that was what we were told by the health teacher in grade 6 (and ya' know, she hadn't lied to us before so we figured we were "goin' down" eventually). But knowing we had to go through this weird, unfamiliar experience together made it way more bearable.  
When talking to friends these days, we have come to find out that most of our girlfriends went through this time using their moms as sounding boards for all their questions and concerns and that when the "time" did finally arrive, most of our gal pals yelled "Mommy!  Come in here, quick!" when they reached out for that help and guidance.  But not me.  I yelled to my twin sister and thank goodness I had her.  Otherwise I think I would have been very alone in this process.  I was beyond clueless too. I was a sweet kid but pretty naive. It was awkward and not a fun experience (although I doubt it is a fun, comfortable moment for any girl).  But man, oh man, having my twin sister there to say this is what you do was beyond calming.  See, she had got her period 2 months earlier so because of this, I had some sense of what to expect.  Plus, she was able to be a huge help in making it all feel normal ('cause ya' know, she was a two month expert by then :):):)  She even got to laugh at me a bit when she realized I had stuck the pad to me, not my underwear.  The hysterical laughing that followed from both of us was a wonderful stress relief and another great twin-bonding moment that sealed our adoration for each other for life.  (But yes, I know what you all are thinking..."OUCHITY-OUCH-OUCH" for me, for sure:):):).   My twin sister guided me with few but kind words and then the event was dealt with and the inevitable moment was over.  I got up, mentally settled into my new phase in life and went outside to play with the neighborhood kids.  Life moved on and all felt normal again.  My twin, like many other times in my life, once again, saved the day.
I have always been one to deal with adversity and the unexpected pretty easily and I believe moments like these with my twin sister certainly helped me to handle life issues with a "I can handle anything" attitude. I know that I always have her support in one form of another and that does make things a little easier to bear.  Things that turn other's worlds upside down, or cause a friend to burst into tears barely faze my sister or me.  I am sure there are many other life factors behind that trait of ours but I do believe having a twin has made us more able to handle tough times.  I think knowing, deep down, that those moments we are going through are never really being dealt with "alone", even if it is being dealt with alone in the physical sense, makes us more capable to deal with it.   
What a relief to have my twin during those strange, awkward "puberty" years.  We had great advice for each other to get through those first few days/months and we were always there to make the experience a little easier and less stressful.  

To this day, I am still no fan of the "monthly" friend's visit but I trudge on as we all do and no trauma lingers from those early days.  Since then, my sister and I have handled many other trying times in life together, including the challenging but joyful experience of child birth and we still handle those times with love, kindness and laughter.  May we live long, healthy lives with and for each other!










Have your Twinnies hit this milestone in life yet?
Does knowing that we found being twins made puberty easier for us ease your mind at all as parents of fwins"


~Cathy