Mother had always wanted a large family, and her wish was granted when she had quadruplets. One of the woman’s sons discussed the difficulties of raising three twins. And, as it turns out, these children have nothing in common. Many people prefer large families because they can always rely on someone. A woman from Scotland had 13 children, and a grandmother from the United States had 173 descendants.
Who, for example, will not be bored to meet old age? Jamie Valentino of Colombia was born into a large family as well, and he was one of the quadruplets. The birth of quadruplets has created quite a stir in Colombia. Even strangers celebrated the births of his brothers and himself in 1994, according to Jamie, because such an event was unusual in his hometown of Bogotá. Jamie, David, Lorenzo, and Pablo were the city’s first quadruplets in 30 years.
We were inseparable as children, much like hostages in a bank robbery. That’s the connection. I believe it would be more interesting if we were completely similar to each other, as the Olsen sisters did. “If they had fraternal telepathy, they might even get their own show,” Jamie admitted. The brothers were not identical twins, but they shared only 50% of their genes, making them difficult to confuse. Furthermore, the boys’ intellectual abilities were vastly different.
For example, Jamie and Lorenzo ended up in a gifted class, whereas Pablo and David continued their studies normally. But this did not make them dumber, because everyone is intelligent in their own way. The brothers also had different worldviews and values: what was normal for some seemed like a betrayal to others. The guys eventually wanted to live separate lives from one another.
My brothers and I finally ran away when we were teenagers. “We were desperate to live life to the fullest, not just one-fourth of it,” Jamie explained. When Jamie entered high school, he was no longer addressed as before, because he was no longer one of four twins to those around him, but simply Jamie. For a long time, Valentino’s classmates had no idea he had brothers. However, the man was eventually forced to return to his previous life.
Jamie, despite his lack of desire, tried to imitate the brothers’ behavior, but in the end, he realized how different he was from his blood relatives. Interests, study location, future plans, social circle, orientation – all of this the guy possessed was not the same as his relatives, but such distant people. Fear of being misunderstood drove Jamie further away from his family. Despite this, the man is still in touch with his family through a special thread.
The family’s sons are traditionally congratulated with four cakes. In movies and books, twins are frequently described as inseparable, but this is not always the case. And Jamie Valentino’s story exemplifies this.