We Should Have Been One Person

We should have been one person all along, not two.

~Dorothy Baker, Cassandra at the Wedding

Have you ever met your soulmate in a friend?  A person who is so similar to you that you can't fathom how you could possibly be two separate souls?  Soul twins.  I do have a friend like that, although I don't get to see her very often anymore since we live a distance apart.  It always seems, though, that when we do get together we haven't missed a beat and we can still complete each other's sentences.  It is so warm and cozy having a friend like that.

Twins...I've always been fascinated by twins.  I grew up with friends that were identical twin girls and one of my best friends is a fraternal triplet.  My whole life I always wanted to have a twin of my own to possess the closeness that I perceive all twins as having.  I even hoped for twins when I became pregnant with my first child.  After having a single baby and realizing how much work it is, I didn't hope for twins with my second pregnancy.  Even though I never did give birth to twins, I did adopt twins when they were toddlers.  One boy, one girl.  So, I did get my twins after all.

My twins are quite fascinating.  They are fiercely protective of each other, yet each wants to control the other, as if the other one was the right hand that he/she could will into doing what he/she wanted. When they were young, one would say his/her stomach hurt and the other would throw up.  They even had their own babble going on and my son would often interpret for my daughter when we couldn't understand her.  My twins are so very different, though...as if they would make one complete person if put together into one body...one is a fast learner, the other a slower learner.  One loves vegetables while the other likes fruits.  One loves to be outdoors and the other loves being inside.

It will be quite interesting to watch them grow up and develop their own separate lives.  Will they remain close, will they grow apart, will they follow each other closely wherever life takes them?  I'm so glad I have the privilege of watching this beautiful journey they are on.

This piece of artwork was inspired by a vintage photo of girls jumping rope on a pier.  (I posted the vintage image on Nine Acres Designs Facebook, if you are interested). I held onto the image for a while, not knowing what I'd like to do with it until one day I saw the snowdrops peeking their heads through the spring soil.  The delicate white petals reminded me of the girls' white dresses and I knew instantly that I wanted them to be jumping rope on top of the snowdrop.  The idea was born.  I colorized and painted the vintage photo in Photoshop and then switched to oil brushes in Painter to complete the job.  I was quite happy with the way it turned out.  I wanted the primary colors to be black and white with a pop of green to pull the two elements together.