Twins?

I will admit, my sons are unmistakably brothers... and unmistakably ours. White-blond hair, big blue eyes, super fair skin, they really do look remarkably similar for being two years apart. But my friends, they are still two years apart. This summer, I have been asked at least six different times by six different people if my sons are twins. Twins?! I'm sorry, come again?

The first one or two times, I laughed it off and put it in the "Odd People" file. But as it has started happening more and more, I feel like there's something I should be able to do to clue people in and stop this insanity! I guess I do enjoy putting them in matching colors sometimes... if the clean laundry permits. But if my brother and I both wore a red t-shirt, would you think we were twins? And, ok, no one has ever asked if they were twins when they were standing perfectly still right next to each other. (When does that ever happen?) But all other things equal, wouldn't you think that the head-and-a-half height difference would be a clue?

At the grocery store recently, two elderly women asked me The Twins Question within ten minutes of each other. Oh sigh. The first of the two was genuinely surprised to find out they were two years apart. "Well that older one must be waiting for his brother before he starts growing!" ... I didn't know what to say to that, so after a short awkward pause I responded, "Heh, heh... yeah, my little guy's... pretty big, isn't he?..." and returned to my groceries.

I'm not offended by the question, I'm just baffled. I honestly do not understand how anyone closer than a half-mile away could look at my sons and think they were twins. I expected it to start happening when they got closer in height, but this has thrown me for a loop!

Next time I get asked, maybe I'll just say, "Yeah, they are, but that second one came out as such a runt, I tell people he's two years younger."