Shyness

We grew up in an average home. I have an older brother and two younger brothers. We didn't always have what we wanted, but we had what we needed. We were blessed to have both parents for a long, long, time. Actually, I was very bashful growing up. Everyone was always trying to help me "come out of my shell". I remember hiding behind Mom's skirt when company came to the door. I was so bashful! The owner of our local grocery store, "Rosie's Market", would always offer me a beautiful doll if I would only tell him a story. These dolls had beautiful hair and dresses, the most beautiful doll I had ever seen. They were lined up on the top shelf. I would always stop and stare and wish. Donna could have cared less. I wanted to say something so badly, but I just couldn't. Donna was always hollerin'at me..."Tell him The Three Bears, Tell him The Three Bears"! She even offered, but he wouldn't let her. Eventually, I did come out of my shell. Now I talk too much.

First Day of Kindergarten.

First Day of Kindergarten

Donna on the left; me on the right.

Don't you just love the sidewalks?

We always walked to school. Yes, we did! We were wearing red jumpers and white sweaters. Whatever happened to clothes like that?

Everyone is always concerned about whether or not twins become dependent on one another. Donna and I were not that type of twins. We could have cared less! I think identical twins fall into that category more than fraternal twins do. We never experienced that feeling of "oneness" that some twins do, but we were still very close. I never felt her pain and I know she never felt mine. That's what makes our school years so interesting. I was always being scolded for the trouble Donna got into. Everyone was so afraid that we would become completely dependent on one another that they separated us in kindergarten. I still remember that first day; I cried all day long. No one could console me at all. There were two kindergarten classrooms and the way they were set up you could see into the other classroom. I remembering looking up and seeing Donna "escaping" out the front door. She didn't even try to "spring" me, can you believe it? The teachers eventually caught her. I don't believe she fared much better, although she probably wouldn't admit it. I can hear her now " I just wanted to go home!" My tears didn't fall because Donna and I weren't together, they came from typical first day of school blues. I eventually enjoyed kindergarten, Donna, however, never did become a big fan of school. In the classroom, there was this huge playhouse. I had never seen anything like it before. I absolutely loved it. Isn't it remarkable what our memory retains. I can remember that playhouse just like it was yesterday. The teachers found out that whether we were together or not, it didn't matter. So naturally we spent our early elementary school years together.

Still "Hopping"

There was another time that Donna led me around pretty good. That was when she came up with the brilliant idea of "hopping" on the bus to meet Dad when he got off work. She was always saying "Come On, Deb!" an I always went. My brain didn't develop until much later. I was scared and said "No!" It was one of the few times I actually showed some backbone. Talk about being in trouble, Dad would have "killed" us if he would have come out of his workplace and seen us standing there. I shudder to think about it. Our parents were very kind but stern. They just didn't know what their two angels were up to. I can't believe we got away with it either. I wonder where our older brother was in all this! Hmmmm!

Riding Around on a Bus!

Here we are with our oldest brother. Yikes! Notice the cars!

As I look at these photos, memories come flooding in. When we were very little; we used to ride the Dayton Public Transportation Buses by ourselves. Yes, that's what I said; "by ourselves". These were the huge yellow buses that traveled all over Dayton.  I don't remember our exact age, but, I do know that it was in the early 1960"s. Donna used to talk me into anything. She still does! You can't see me, but I am pointing my finger at her. As it happened, the bus stop was right in front of our house. Children rode for free, so we would wait until a crowd formed and got on the bus. I have no memory as to whether or not anyone questioned our being on board. We would then get off at the shopping center along with everyone else.  I remember looking in the shops, that's all.  We were too little to have any money. Then we would ride the bus back home. You've got to understand that we were probably four or five years old at the time. We did this regularly. One time while we were waiting at the bus stop to come home, we saw our Mother go by in a taxi. I screamed and Donna grabbed me and we "hid" behind the big red and blue mailbox, which caused us to miss the bus. As you can guess, I, being "the girl", started crying. I just knew we were never going to see Mom and Dad again! Boo! Hoo! Donna,on the other hand, told me she could get us home. She said we could walk home; all we had to do was to follow the railroad tracks. Boy, was I gullible! Can you believe that we followed the railroad tracks?  I know if I were reading this, I wouldn't believe it either. Well, we made it home. Many years later, after we had both grown up, we finally told our parents. We both assumed that Mom and Dad knew about it. I don't know what made us think that. Apparently they did not know. I thought we were going to get a spanking right then and there. I hadn't heard Mom use words like that in a long, long time. Looking back, I can't believe we did things like that. I know times were different, but... Yes, there were others. We had no fear at all...well at least Donna didn't. What is truly amazing is that we couldn't even tell time, and yet we knew when to come home. Donna was definitely the "ring leader".   

Nearness.

Being fraternal twins we never experienced the feeling of telepathy that some twins do.  We were and are completely independent of each other. I 've always wondered how it would feel to experience that  kind of closeness with her, especially since we live in two different states.  She is amazing!

Two Alike.

I am on the left and Donna is on the right.

Angels? I think not!

 

Everyone is always so surprised when someone tells that they have a twin. Twins are so cute, cuddly, and adorable. We are supposed to look alike, act alike, and dress alike. Hah! Let me tell you about my twin. My twin is a sister. We were born in March of 1959 in Dayton, Ohio. My name is Debbie and hers is Donna. She was named Donna because my Mother said she looked just like my Dad. His name was Donald, Mom's was Marjorie. Both are gone now. My Mother said that the name Debbie just kind of rhymed with Donna. Debbie and Donna, how cute! I should have gotten the hint then, but being an infant...I didn't have a clue of what was to come.  We are definitely fraternal twins. The "only" thing the same about us is that we were born on the same day. Donna has always been more of a "tomboy" to my being more of a "girlie" girl. I still hear here hollerin' at me to "quit being such a girl". She really hated the girl thing. Still does! She loved sports of all kinds. I loved dolls of all kinds. She was smart in school. I struggled to get good grades. She was rebellious. I followed the rules. She was always in trouble, and I was always the good one. How many believes that? Well, it's true. We had very different likes and dislikes; however, we seemed to always get along. As far as I know, there were no other twins in our family tree. I want this blog to be a record of our journey together, a legacy to our children, and hopefully a payback. Can you see me smile? 

 

Welcome to my Blog.

I enjoy sharing stories of my childhood. I'm told that I am a pretty good storyteller, not so much a writer. "I don't talk good, and I write even worse". You be the judge. I grew up in a much simpler time and I know that one day my children will say the same thing to their children. My sister and I were and are a "hoot". My hope is that these memories will bring enjoyment to all who share them.