twins?

I've somewhat gotten accustomed to being stared at in public. I still don't like it - I'm quite content to be the wallflower and absolutely despise being the center of attention, but I've accepted that my family seems to draw attention in public. I've actually gotten quite adept at ignoring it... its often pretty easy to do as four children can be a bit preoccupying anyway. That is I can ignore it until someone decides to actually force themselves inside my bubble by talking to me. I despise talking to strangers and making small talk almost as much as I don't like being the center of attention. However, while my family seems to draw frequent comment from the "public" at large, I try to focus on the fact that generally, the comments are at least, well meaning.

When I had just Trevor and Easton and they were little and sitting in the double stroller, I frequently got questioned as to whether they were twins. Of course, I don't see much of a resemblance, they are 17 months apart and when they were young like that Trevor was at the top of the height and weight scales and Easton not even on the charts. Oh, and of course they are not even biologically related. But I chalked it up to them sitting in a double stroller - harder to tell height etc and they looked about the same size? I haven't gotten that comment since that time. Trevor is now more average on the charts and Easton is still barely hanging on the bottom of the charts and, I think, they look even less alike as their features really come out.

So, imagine my surprise when a woman I hadn't previously noticed came up at lunch the other day and said "I apologize for staring, but are they twins?" I'm presuming that she was talking about Trevor and Easton again - though, "they" in a sea of 4 children is kinda nondescript. I figure that because I'm giving her the credit of noticing that the other two children are African. Now, its possible that she thought they were twins.... they at least are the two that are actually biologically related and do have similar traits - but TWINS? They are 7 and 2. Kenzie is in a highchair and BJ is clearly not a baby anymore. So, I'm guessing that she didn't think it was them. However, with Easton and Trevor you're back to the fact that while they are closer in size with Easton being so tiny there is still like a 2 size clothing difference - a pretty noticeable difference in age, I feel. But, whatever.

So, not knowing who she was talking about for sure, I bury all the sarcastic things that pop into my head and instead answer "No, all three of the boys are only 17 months apart". To which the woman answers "Way to go, mom!". Thankfully she walks away at this point because I have even less of an idea on what to say to that...