Dear parents of singles. I’m about to let you into a secret part of the world of parenting twins. The Freemasons have the handshake, gangs have tattoos and colours, and what do parents of twins have? The answer is simple. We have “The Look”.
Parents of twins can share a whole conversation in a 5 second glance. It’s like telepathy – with one look, we can effectively communicate between ourselves a little bit about our day and how things are going.
“The Look” is something that develops naturally after delivering your sweet little double bundles. In the beginning, it’s hesitant and shy – more of a ‘Hey, tell me this gets better!’ A seasoned twin wrangler usually responds with “The Look”, accompanied by a smile and a nod. After a while you can usually ease into the “I feel your pain” variant when one or both is screaming, the “Yeah, they’re both sleeping. I can drink a coffee!”, or even the – “You look like hell. Bad night, hey?”. All this conveyed in a 5 second look.
The Look is something that we parents of twins share freely. After all, we know the highs, the lows and the inbetweens of raising twins.
I remember the first time I got The Look. I was getting onto the bus with my huge double pram, and a guy got off with his twin boys. I looked up, struggling like I used to, and he smiled, gave me The Look, and helped lift the pram onto the bus. Not a word was spoken, but The Look reassured me that things get better.
Now when we’re out – there’s always at least one time you’ll exchange The Look. You don’t even have to have the kids with you to give The Look – it’s just something that’s built in. It’s an understanding that parents of twins share. An unwritten, unspoken – I got your back.
