Today is My Mother's Favourite Day of the Whole Year!!

I have commented in the past about the fact that I have two moms. You see, my mother is a twin, and she and her sister have a relationship that defies explanation and logic. Not that anyone needs to understand it or explain it. It is what it is, and we have all lived this familial intertwined, mishmashed existence for our entire lives. It has always been understood that I have two sets of parents and that they have extra kids and grandkids, albeit children for whom they didn't have to endure labour pains! My moms are very much alike in a number of ways. They both wear their hair in similar styles and colour (although other mom wore her hair blond for many years before mom did!) and they both suffer from brutal stomach ailments! (Hint: When going out to eat with these two, it is advisable to take along a list of the "can't digest fully" foods! It will save you time when choosing a restaurant or ordering the meal!) They both have tremendous disdain and intolerance for perfumes and aftershaves, and they both equally abhor wearing sandals that separates their toes!! But, it always strikes me as funny when people say that they cannot tell these two very distinctive women apart. Even funnier is the question that I am often asked, "Do you have trouble telling which one is which?" My often sarcastic response to this insensitivity is, "No! Do you have trouble figuring out who your mother is?" And today, July 24th is a day that they can truly celebrate their differences. You see my two moms, identical twins, celebrate different birthdays!! Yup! You read that correctly. My other mom was born just before midnight on the 24th and my mom was born enough minutes after midnight on the 25th to make a discernible difference in their birth dates. I am certain that this was difficult when they were growing up. I can speak to this quirk of the calendar from direct experience given the fact that little bro and I also celebrate our birthdays a day apart. I know what it must have been like for my mother to have to wait that extra day. To want to have a special day all to herself, only to watch her sister and family expect them to celebrate together. But, I also know that as they have grown and aged, it has become a source of perverse pleasure for my mother to watch her twin turn another year older a full day before she does!! Today is my mother's favourite day of the year. It is better than ice cream, (given that she is lactose intolerant!) better than chocolate, better than peanut butter! So in honour of other mom's birthday, I will count a few of the ways that make this my mother's favourite day!

1. For 24 full hours, other mom is a whole number older! That probably sucked when they were 9 turning 10, but now that they are a few years older than that, it is a delicious source of entertainment. It is even better when they celebrate milestone birthdays as they will next year!!

2. Other mom was able to pay senior's prices a full 24 hours before mom! While this might sound like an advantage, I am certain that my mom was happy to wait the day!

3. Other mom was able to collect old-age and Canada pensions before mom. In order to do this accurately, she had to acknowledge that she is a full 24 hours older!

4. Other mom was able to enter into senior's drug programs, paid for by the government, earlier than mom!

5. She could check off the 65 and over box on forms before mom!

6. She could attend Senior's Day at Shopper's Drug Mart a day before mom!

7. For evermore, her hair, teeth, skin, and all body parts will be 24 hours older than mom's. Which means that all body parts that tend to droop and sag will do so 24 hours before mom's do!

8. Her hearing will tend to diminish 24 hours before mom's and her eyesight will probably fail a day before as well!

9. She will notice a new wrinkle a day before her sister and she will see that new grey hair that day as well!

10. But, she has the advantage of everybody wishing her a Happy Birthday and opening her presents earlier as well! I just hope that her sense of humour doesn't disappear a day early. Happy Birthday Other Mom! (Oh yeah, and you too Mom--tomorrow!!)