Once Upon a Time

The twins turn 15 this in a couple of days, so I thought I’d commemorate the occasion by telling stories about them this week.

I carry with me many fond memories of the twins from the last 15 years. Goofy things they’ve said and done. Cute things that used to make me smile so wide I would nearly break my face. For instance, the time one of them fell asleep in his closet under a mountain of stuffed animals when he was supposed to be cleaning his room.

Of course I took a picture. So what?

One of my most favorite memories is bedtime. Bedtime stories specifically. Bedtime stories started out much like they do with every child. The twins would get into bed and either their mother or I would read to them from one of their many books.

Storytime morphed somewhere along the way. The tables were turned. I’m not sure how or why it happened. It eventually turned into the twins telling us bedtime stories.

Every night the four of us would gather in the bed their mother and I shared. We would cuddle underneath the blankets while the twins told wild and outlandish stories that only the mind of a 5-year-old could conceive. Other times they would simply recount something that happened during the course of their day.

“Once upon a time there was a daddy takin’ a video of me. With a video camera. The end.”
Baby B

Two things were consistent, though: the beginnings and endings. Every story began with the line “Once upon a time,” and every story ended with the line, “The end.” Those are obviously classic fairytale lines which I cannot for the life of me figure out where they were learned. We didn’t read them classic fairytales. We read them Bob the Builder and Elmo books.

Can we annoy you? Yes we can!

It was the cutest damned thing ever. After all of the stories were told (often nights they’d both tell multiple stories) we’d all climb out of my bed and head to their room where we would say our final goodnight, a routine I have carried over to Baby C.

“Goodnight.” I would say.

“GOODNIGHT!”

“I love you.”

“I LOVE YOU!”

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

“SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!”

Once upon a time my boys were precious and cute. Now they’re young men, wonderful big brothers, and uncles. They are nearly as tall as I am. They both have the beginnings of a mustache sprouting above their lips. Their voices are a far cry from the squeaky, infantile tones of their childhood years.

Sigh. Time goes by entirely too fast for my liking.