My name is Rita, and I have an identical twin, Anita.  She is the oldest by 6 minutes.  Our mother didn't even know she was having twins until we were born!

We love being twins.  However, as children we hated being "the twins" and having to share everything.  About the time we were in third grade we stopped dressing alike, and Anita cut her hair short. 

We didn't begin dressing alike and having the same haircut again until we were about 25 years old and we began going to twin gatherings such as the Twins Days and the International Twins Association yearly convention.

We have so many "coincidences" in our lives.  When we married, both of our last names had the same beginning letter (Hayes and Howard).  Both of our husbands had March birthdays and were physically similar.  Their names were also similar in their structures: beginning with 2 consonants, a vowel, and ending with double t (Wyatt and Scott).  We divorced within months of each other because we just couldn't stand our husbands coming between us!

We both have 2 boys.  Three of our boys have similar names.  Her oldest is William Rhett (he's called Rhett); her youngest is Liam (which is the Irish form of William).  My youngest is William (he's called Will), and if you combine Will and Liam, you get...William.  We did not plan this. 

We didn't even notice it until some time after Will was born.  Another coincidence with our oldest boys is that they were both born on the 10th of the month (different months). There are so many more coincidences, but it would take forever to list them all!

Growing up, we never noticed that we were mirrored image twins.  Just a couple of years ago, Anita asked me one day, "Do you always carry your purse on your left shoulder?"  She always carries her on the right.  Since we've noticed that, I began parting my hair on the opposite side so we can "look in the mirror" when we see each other.

We're usually on the same side of all our pictures together.  There are only a few where we switched sides. We do have very different careers.  She is an insurance agent and I am a teacher.  We live approximately 100 miles apart, so it's always a treat to have her come to my class and trick my students and coworkers. 

We've also tricked her coworkers and they never knew until we told them!  We've also confused our parents, of all people.  Most people tell us apart by the children we have with us.  But our mother has at times thought I was Anita with Rita's kids, and vice versa! 

Anita's youngest son has always had a difficult time telling who was his mom.  Even as a small baby, he'd cry relentlessly when I'd leave because he thought his mom was leaving him.  He's almost 8 years old now and has to look at our name necklaces to tell us apart. 

We have such a close bond that it amazes and even baffles some people.  We always know what the other one is thinking.  We've had people comment about how we move in unison when we're together, and that we seem like a whole person when we're together.  And that's exactly how we feel when we're together. 

There is no bond like it in the world. 

Rita Howard

Chickamauga, Georgia

Twins Anita & Rita at 3 years old