Adventures of Jenna and Julie

I may or may not have a twin named Julie.

Let me explain….I love watching the crazy shows on TLC. One of my all time favorites is called  "I'm My Own Twin." It was a documentary about two women on different continents who ahd one uniqhe trait -- they were kimiras. These women have two different sets of DNA in different parts of their body. While still in the womb, one twin absorbed the other and the surviving twin now has two different sets of DNA. With one woman the liver has different DNA than the blood. Somehow this happened and no on e knows exactly why.

Well I was watching this show with my mom and my aunt. We've made jokes in the past that I am split down the middle -- that my lighter-stomached right side is from my Caucasian dad and the left darker-stomached side is from my Native American mom. I also have one thumb shaped like my dad's and the other is shaped like my mom's. Weird. So we're laughing and watching this show when some of the more visible markers of some kimiras were listed -- a line right down the middle of the stomach where one side is darker than the other!! OMG! And my family and I are rolling on the floor. NO WAY! Okay, so I never got this checked out but I remain curious. This condition is not problematic unless the twins are boy-girl. You can imagine that the reproductive system might be a little messed up. After seeing the show, it is an ongoing family joke that my half of my body is Julie and the other is Jenna. When I can't remember doing something or make a mistake: "It was Julie. Don’t blame me!" LOL

About a year later, after an emergency trip to the clinic and an ultrasound, I received a call from the doc, "Can you come in soon?...Today?!" I had, haha, just walked to the salon to get my…lip waxed. So I was feeling all relaxed and pretty then I was instantly scared. They had found something and I just knew it was bad. My mind thought of all the horrible possibilities and in spite of all that could have been wrong, I was so happy when the doctor said , "your ovaries" To be honest, my greatest fear was not blockage, cysts, scar tissue, or an oddly shaped uterus but rather that I in fact had ovaries!! I almost missed the cyst part and I burst into tears -- laughing, crying, relieved, scared…the weirdest moment of my life. Hands down.  

My poor mom. She had driven me to the appointment and there I was sobbing uncontrollably. Later, in the DQ drive thru I share my real, weird concerns and we definitely had a good laugh together. So then we announced to the family that Julie is in fact Julie and not Julio.  I also remember writing to my friend Kristin and sharing my reaction with her….I was laughing so hard I was crying.

What I learned from that TLC documentary and my experience was to be okay with laughter when life is just plain weird. Life is unfair. Life is chaotic and crazy and confusing and frustrating. Laugh at the strange things that somehow become oddly hilarious. I remember calling Kristin J. after another weird, awkward, sad moment in the local Walgreens while perusing the shelves and asking the pharmacist for information about sperm-safe personal lubricant. I was embarrassed, humiliated, frustrated, desperate, devastated -- a person should not have to make that trip, that is not supposed to be a part of "starting" a family!! I called Kristin but when sharing the story, I just had to laugh. It was sad and heartbreaking but so awkward it was just funny.

I think I would have taken the news about ovarian cysts much harder had I not had this small portion of silliness within me that day. The silly, ridiculous, weird concerns saved me that afternoon. Likewise, had I not seen the small, very teeny-tiny small portion of funny weirdness in my trip to Walgreens I probably would have never recovered. Now I am able to ask the embarrassing questions without hesitation because I know I can laugh about it later and share a giggle with my husband and friends.

It can actually be quite a fun game. Pick a stock person and blindside them with an incredibly personal awkward question about fertility. It's quite entertaining.

God wants us to take life seriously -- have faith, serve others, go about the business of the kingdom. But God, who is our Father in heaven who loves us as his children also wants us to actually enjoy the life that we live. What good father would not want to see his children having good, clean fun?!

Enjoying life means welcoming belly laughs when they come. Sometimes belly laughs are few and far between so when they occur and especially when they occur in abundance or during a difficult time: ENJOY EVERY MUSCLE CRAMP! In spite of the evil and sadness around you, "he will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy" (Job 8:21). Look for the small moments and opportunities for laughter in the midst of your struggles. They can be your saving grace.

When have you laughed, appropriately, in spite of a difficult situation or time?

Is this a particularly cherished memory if it was shared with anyone?  

How did God protect you, teach you and love on you through that moment?