Monday, March 24, 2008

Dioscuri



Did you have a good Easter? I did. In fact, I had a doubly wonderful day.

I was at work, of course, putting my hands first on a woman who recently gave birth to beautiful twin boys. They're so gorgeous! It was wonderful to set eyes on them, since I worked with the mom throughout her pregnancy. Little Mac and Oliver are both adorable!

Next on the table was a woman who is currently pregnant - with twin boys! I'll be present when these little guys are born since I'm not only her massage therapist but her doula, too. This is the first time I've worked with women who are pregnant with twins. As seems proper and fitting, instead of coming across one woman pregnant with twins, I'm working with two of them. What fun!

There's something so mythical and magical about the idea of sharing the womb with someone. What would it be like to have a real doppelganger, someone you could switch places with? I love reading stories about the deep connections between twins. Too, I've always loved Geminis. In fact, I married a Gemini. True to type, he had several different personalities, all living within one body. Fascinating, though sometimes confusing.

I even like silly twin movies like "The Parent Trap" (both versions) and of course the ancient TV show The Patty Duke Show. In spite of the lack of substance, it was fun to watch the identical cousins and their wacky adventures.

Who doesn't love the Weasley twins from Harry Potter? What about the Doublemint twins? Even the Greeks and Romans loved twins. Let's face it. Twins are great.

Two salutes to Castor and Pollux! Yeah! Yeah!

So like they were, no mortal
Might one from other know;
White as snow their armor was,
Their steeds were white as snow.
Never on earthly anvil
Did such rare armor gleam,
And never did such gallant steeds
Drink of an earthly stream.
. . . . . . . . .

Back comes the chief in triumph
Who in the hour of fight
Hath seen the great Twin Brethren
In harness on his right.
Safe comes the ship to haven
Through billows and through gales,
If once the great Twin Brethren
Sit shining on the sails.


12 comments:

R.L. Bourges said...

Reya, I watched the intro to the Patty Duke show you provided? Now I understand EVERYTHING: I am the identical cousins, the crazy pair of matching bookends in ONE. Finally. I know. Thank you so much for this enlightening moment
:-)

dennis said...

Dennis thinks Patty Duke is cute.

Moonroot said...

Happy Easter!

Steve Reed said...

Reya, you totally made my day with that Patty Duke video.

I always wanted an identical twin when I was growing up. I think I felt like the only person who could really understand me was...me!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
mouse (aka kimy) said...

when I was expecting e, I was convinced I was carrying twins - after all twins ran on both sides of the family....then I had a scan and even though I was the size of a barn, alas, there was just one baby....I always thought being a twin or having twins would have been the most wonderful thing.... but one is also the most wonderful thing and sometimes there's a twinning phenomena without a twinning happening. grok?

Barbara said...

It must be so interesting to have 3 on the table at once. I'm sure the babies look forward to the massage as much as their mother does!

Reya Mellicker said...

Yes, grok, yes.

The babies do love the massage. They kick and swim and squirm around while the mom dozes. It's so sweet.

Washington Cube said...

We have identical twins on both sides of the family, so there has always been the potential for any of us to have them again. I used to wonder if I would. As for Patty?

POPPO!!!

Loving "a hot dog makes her lose control." I hear Hammer snickering over in the corner.

P.S. While Patty Duke was on that show, she was living with these zealot controlling agents (husband and wife) of hers, having been taken away from her alcoholic mother and her life was much like the young Judy Garland; a little working slave. Very sad.

Reya Mellicker said...

That is sad! I didn't know.

My favorite line is "a hot dog makes her lose control" too!

Though it's hilarious that the sophisticated cousin likes Crepes Suzette. I mean really!

Gary said...

Did you know that I am a twin? My folks went the cute route and named my brother Larry - so we rhyme, which I have always appreciated (truly, no sarcasm). Having a twin growing up was like having a built in best friend and I loved it.

kbrow said...

Geminis comprise a large number of my friend set, and the husband is a gemini, too. We also used to have a cockatiel who was a gemini, named...Gemini.