Lydia

I've never claimed to fully understand my children. I knew, with them being twins, that they would likely have a special bond, oftentimes absorbed in their own special world, speaking their own special language. And, as expected, that is the case. They've had a special connection even since they were babies. The day they both could crawl, they took off down the hall on their own little adventure, giggles abounding. As they've gotten older, their special bubble has grown to encompass imaginary play involving cats in the attic, cooking food in their "Old McDonald's", using bobby pins to unlock their doors at "work", and running through the house pretending they are being chased by a monster, at times one of them playing the role of said monster. One part of their play that stands out more than the others, though, is them calling one another "Lydia". It started months ago, I can't even remember the exact moment. But for quite some time now, I'll hear them playing or watch them racing through the house saying, "Come here, Lydia! Hurry or the monster is going to get you!" Or, "I said come here, Lydia. You need to mind or your mommy is going to give you a spankin'!" And, "Where are you, Lydia? We need to get ready to go to the store." I know they aren't referring to an imaginary friend because they are always referring to one another. As far as the name is concerned, I have two explanations. 1.) Their Grana –my stepmom—is named Lydia. We've always tried to refer to grandparents as their assigned name, especially when the girls were younger and they were still learning. As the girls got older, if we slipped and I called Daddy, Jeff, Cadie would give me a stern look and say, "Don't say Jeff, say Da-ddy." There must have been a few instances the girls heard Grana referred to as Lydia, because they quickly learned that was her "real" name. 2.) The girls have a cousin named Lydia. I'm more inclined to go with the former rather than the latter because they have only spent time with their cousin on two or three occasions and it's been almost two years. I think they must have latched onto Lydia's name because they rarely hear anyone refer to their Grandma –Jeff's mom—or Nana –my mom- by their first names. So, it all comes down to this. I blame Poppy –my dad—because he's terrible with names. He oftentimes refers to Lydia by her first name and even went through a stint of calling her "Granny" (which she loved...). Madeline even took to calling her Granny, with a glint of mischief in her eye. Regardless, though, of what name they call one another, I always smile and chuckle because I cherish the bond they have with one another; it's a special one.