Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

CORAL HARBOUR - The number of twins in Coral Harbour is nothing short of amazing for a community with less than 800 residents.

And, while there are numerous curiosities associated with raising twins, there is also a lot of work involved.

Monica and Aaron Emiktowt have six kids, three boys and three girls, ranging from 11 years to 15 months.

The youngest of the siblings are Adrienne and her twin brother, Andrew.

Monica says the twins are a handful and there are times the work never seems to end.

"They're a blessing, but they keep me pretty busy," says Monica with a laugh.

"It can get pretty crazy for me because I also have a two-year-old, so it's like having three babies at home.

"But, the twins have very different personalities, so it's an interesting experience."

Aaron and Monica are still amazed by the fact they're parents of twins.

Monica couldn't make it to her first three scheduled ultrasounds when pregnant with the twins, and was about six months along when one was finally done.

She says it was a big surprise to find out she was carrying twins.

"I had to call Aaron and break the news to him, and he was pretty surprised and shocked.

"Some people had said I was carrying twins, but I didn't really believe it because the nurse had never found a second heartbeat."

Monica says the biggest difference in raising the twins from her other children is the extra amount of work.

"Sometimes I wish I had a twin sister to help out.

"But, most of the time they go to sleep and wake up at the same time, so I get a break every now and then."

Monica says the twins have shown, on at least one occasion, that they share a connection.

When Andrew was sick at four months, Adrienne seemed to feel his pain.

"I had Andrew at the health station and he had to be put on intravenous.

"Aaron was home with Adrienne when she suddenly started crying.

"She was crying very loudly for no reason and, when we figured it all out, it was about the same time Andrew got his needle.

"We'll never know, but she may have felt it."

Identical twins Geena Nakoolak and Geela Kaludjak were born to Noel and Maggie Kaludjak 23 years ago.

Like many twins, Geena says she and her sister had a bit of fun in their youth by pretending to be each other.

She says some people always knew the difference, but others were fooled.

"I remember our relatives were harder to fool than people who didn't know us all that well," says Geena.

"We never did it to be mean, just to have fun."

Geela and Geena are the only twins among the Kaludjak's six children.

Geena says she didn't find growing up all that different from other kids just because she had a twin sister.

She says most people accepted each of them for who they were.

"I've heard about twins knowing how each other feels, or feeling pain when the other is hurt, but I don't really remember having feelings like that.

"We always enjoyed hanging out and spending time together, but there were times when we'd each be trying to be the best at something and that could lead to little fights.

"We could push each other a little harder because we were twins.

"But, most of the time, we just tried to be equal."

Geela is the eldest of the two by six minutes.

She describes herself as a family person, and still enjoys spending time with Geena as much as ever.

"We live our own lives, but share a number of the same interests," says Geela.

"We both enjoy sewing very much.

"We started as teens and still sew together today."

Geela says it's special to have a twin sister because she's always there for you.

She says she doesn't remember competing with Geena too much in their youth.

"We were very close and I used to ask Geena if she ever felt was I was feeling.

"She would say she didn't, but there were a few times I thought she knew how I felt, but she didn't want to talk about it much."

When asked how she'd feel if she ever had twins of her own, Geela's answer was short and to the point.

"Now that would be freaky," she said.