My Twister

I don’t see my younger sister very often, despite the fact that we both live on the outskirts of Melbourne, or around an hour’s drive apart. Sometimes six months will pass before we catch up. The best times are when she comes to stay at my place in the country or when I get to land on her for a few days in her winter apartment in Coolangatta, Queensland. After spending the first 24 hours giving the drinks a serious nudge, we begin to relax into a comfortable routine of walking, cooking, shopping and sister trickery.

While wandering aimlessly around one of the finer shoe shops in Coolangatta, discussing the various pros and cons of brands, colours and comfort factors, the shop assistant rushed up eagerly with a wild look in her eye and announced,” you are twins or sisters, no twisters”. We keep forgetting that we have grown to resemble each other over the last twenty years and each time it happens, we are amused, amazed and delighted. And then the game is repeated over and over again for the duration of the holiday as strangers feel compelled to comment on our sibling resemblance.

Her hat and travel jewellery.
Her hat and travel jewellery.
My hat and travel jewellery.
My hat and travel jewellery.

We recall with hilarity the many times in the past twenty years when we were greeted in this way. One night, a young chap wandered, or staggered up to us, raucously announcing, ” I think I’m seeing double, maybe I’ve had too much to drink, or are there really two of you?”

Our shoes, not the same colour!
Our shoes, not the same colour, just the same brand, size and style!

We are often mutually surprised, after an absence of many months, to find that we have arrived for an event or restaurant lunch wearing the same coloured clothes and accessories. We both wear a lot of black, being true Melbournians, and break this up with colourful extras. This, and our skin colouring and hair length, only adds to the confusion and fun.

Hats, scarves, reading glasses, jewellery, shoes. Totally weird!!
Hats, scarves, reading glasses, jewellery, shoes. Totally weird!!

We gathered some bits and pieces from our bedrooms for a little photo shoot and were amazed at what we had, quite separately, chosen to bring along for the winter holiday!

38 thoughts on “My Twister”

      1. She is 7 years young, has dark long hair and is much thinner, so no, and we don’t usually have the same taste in clothes, much more similar in music and films. She had her birthday yesterday. And I don’t see her enough.

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  5. What a lovely happy post… Your photos truly paint a thousand words 🙂 I waited a long time for siblings and I know how truly wonderful it is to spend time in their company. I don’t have to imagine the scene in the shoe shop, it happens to us as well… It made me miss my 2 younger sisters, one who lives in Melbourne, and the other in the country a couple of hours away. Despite them being much younger and half-siblings we (and my brother) have an uncanny resemblance and similar mannerisms, behaviours & preferences.
    The day before my youngest sister’s wedding walking along the beach I had a woman I didn’t know (but who turned out to be a fellow guest) come up to me and say “you’re N’s sister!”. At my her 21st the venue assigned a young bloke to make sure our evening went smoothly… he spent the whole night in a state of confusion between me and the other sister who were both coordinating the event…

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    1. Sometimes people who know my sister say they thought they saw her earlier walking down the stairs or driving along in a different car.
      That confusion at the 21st must have been so much fun at the time.
      My daughter really doesn’t look like me at all, yet people keep thinking she doe, based on mannerisms mostly.
      The genes in your family must be strong to have half siblings with such strong resemblance.

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  7. Beautiful stuff Francesca! It is funny…Mum and I only see each other a few times a year. When we do, it is amazing how often we are wearing similar outfits. Or we are often cooking similar things or reading similar things. Even listening to the same things on the ABC.

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  8. How lovely that despite the miles, you and your sister remain very close. And you certainly do have a lot of similar things! I will be getting together with my four sisters in a couple of weeks and yes, it will all take place on the GC. It’s something that these days happens very rarely so I’m really looking forward to it xx

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  9. Great Francesca! Funny and endearing. My sister and I rarely see each other (thank goodness for Facetime), and even when we do, we are quite different in appearance – taking after different sides of the family. Clothing is different, too – she very American, me very English. However, we still think alike and I think we always will.

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  10. I’m your other sister and even I can’t tell the difference between you two sometimes. A photo that our brother put on Facebook recently required 5 minutes of examination before I could tell who it really was and even then I wasn’t sure. I notice that both of you like similar foods too! I think one sister is more feisty than the other but I won’t say which one!

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    1. Hi Sue- yes they are Keens, which are so comfortable and practical as a walking shoe in the tropics. mine are orange and have done heaps of walking all over Asia. Hers are pink ( I want them) and she found them in Vermont, USA, at a very good price. nI am now jealous.

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      1. I have some purple ones…bought because I can no longer wear standard sandals, I need my feet to be properly supported, and I must say they are very comfortable! But not the prettiest footwear out!!

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  12. Bizarre but lovely! Have 3 older sisters but there was an almost 10 year gap before I came along so I’m not too excited if I get told how alike we are! Certainly with 3 of us there are strong resemblances, think the other might be a ring in…… Love keens too!

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    1. Daughter make very good substitute sisters. Like you, I am rather attached to my ( only ) daughter. Together we can say anything, discuss anything at all- I just wish she wasn’t so busy.
      You must be nearly packed and ready to move closer to one of yours.

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  16. Lovely post! My sister and I don’t really look alike, but we love spending time with each other. It is always a treat to meet up for lunch and a wander around a gallery.

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