My name is Debbie LaChusa and I am a fraternal twin. My sister, Valerie, and I have a twin connection that I’ve never been able to explain.  There are so many parallels in our lives; too many to be mere coincidence.

That’s me on the right, and my twin sister, Valerie on the left

My Twin Story

A rather odd connection I have with my sister has to do with our married last names. My twin sister and I both married men with “capital letter in the middle” last names.  For me it was LaChusa.  For my sister DuBois.  Now that might not seem like a big deal, but we also grew up with the “capital letter in the middle” last name of McKasson.

Not that McKasson was a bad name, but it was the kind of last name that always seemed to complicate matters. People either didn’t capitalize the “K” or they split our last name into two words. I felt as though I was forever correcting people. How I longed for a simple last name like Smith!

And, I figured when I got married I would finally get that “regular” last name I had always wanted.  Well, guess what? It didn’t happen!

In fact, my sister and I both got two new “capital letter in the middle” last names! My sister did later remarry and now she has a “regular” last name, but our connection doesn’t end there.

Now We Aren’t the Only Ones Who

Share a Birthday

Our connection has manifested itself in an interesting way through our husbands, in addition to the whole last name thing.  While my sister got a “regular” last name when she remarried, we added other interesting similarities.

Our husbands also share the same birthday (no, they’re not twins!), they are both left-handed, they both wear glasses and they both graduated from the same high school. Pretty weird, huh?!

Is it Just a Bond, or is it Something More?

We have another connection … and this is the one that baffles me the most.  I can’t tell you how many times I have been thinking about calling my sister, when the phone has rung and it was her on the other end.  It just happened again today, as I was writing up this story!

We seem to have that extra sense that makes this kind of thing happen all the time.

All these strange connections and our special “extra sense” are only a part of the special bond my sister and I share. Although, I’ll admit it wasn’t always that way.

We didn’t always get along as children –  but then it’s tough having someone you feel like you have to compete with all the time.

Here we are at age one. That’s me on the right, and my twin sister, Valerie on the left

There were times I wished I didn’t have to share the attention. At birthdays and graduations and special days like that.  It was tough always having to share the spotlight. In fact, I remember one thing I really enjoyed about my wedding (and actually, I didn’t even realize it until after the fact) … it was the first time I didn’t have to share the spotlight with my sister. Although she was in my wedding party, of course!

Like any friendship, we’ve had our ups and downs.  But I wouldn’t trade my twin sister and our wonderful connection for anything in the world.  I am lucky to live near her and her family.

I am very blessed to be a twin and have my twin sister Valerie in my life.

Here we are at age four. That’s me on the left, and my twin sister, Valerie on the right.

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