Before I had the Buddies I was slightly intrigued by the stories I would hear about secret languages and shared phenomena but never paid any real attention. After I had the Buddies I was constantly questioned about secret languages and shared phenomena but still never paid any real attention. 
Until the first day I decided to take them outside by myself. They were just about 16 months old and the weather was beautiful. I got the idea that they needed fresh air in our unfenced yard. I carried them to the lawn and set them down. They felt the grass on their toes, looked at each other, I swear they grinned, then immediately took off in separate directions. That evening when Hubby got home from work I went to Walmart and officially became the mother of "leash kids". I feel no shame.
Now, I can't say it was any sort of "telepathy"...more like "turdepathy". But the one thing I know for sure for sure was that the were inseparable.
They still are. They have little to no interest in doing anything solo. We have tried to have one-on-one time with each of them. They are simply not interested. The last time I tried to take Buddy #2 on a lone shopping trip he asked when we were turning around to get his "best bud" so we don't bother trying any more.
A few months ago, Buddy #2 showed me a black toenail. A few weeks ago, he showed me it wasn't black any more because it was missing...or almost anyway. It was actually hanging by a thread. I really would have rather not seen it. Just the same, we decided not to try to shove his tender tootsies into his ever-shrinking hockey skates for practice and informed Buddy #1 that he would be Buddiless for the next hour. He wasn't overly comfortable being on the ice without his partner in crime but we assured him that his bro would watch him from the stands.
The first half of the practice was spent with Buddy #1 skating back and forth at the boards while Buddy #2 "raced" him on foot in the stands. The second half of the practice was spent driving home because Buddy #1 decided hockey was NO FUN without Buddy #2.
Last week the boys were invited to their first sleep-over party. It was even better because 2 of the 3 girls were invited to stay over as well to keep the birthday boy's sister company. Then our oldest daughter asked if she could spend the night at her friend's house. Hubby and I were almost giddy at the thought of having the house to ourselves for the evening! We borrowed a movie from the library, bought some mini pizzas we wouldn't have to share, and settled in for a glorious night of silence.
I think we were about 20 minutes in when the phone rang. The 10 year-old was calling to inform us that Buddy #2 was not feeling so great and wanted to be picked up...immediately. As I was putting on my boots she called back to say he was officially sick since he puked all over the neighbor's floor. When I got to the neighbor's door, however, it was Buddy #1 that stood waiting with his coat on.
"What are you doing, Buddy? I thought it was your brother who was sick.." I asked.
"He puked, that means I'm next and I'm not doing it here!" He stated emphatically.
So the three of us climbed in the truck and drove home. Buddy #2 eventually admitted he got sick over worrying about me. Because Daddy is in a cast, if a bad guy were to break in overnight I would need another man to protect me. He is so sweet...neurotic, but sweet.
Because their sleepover was ruined, Hubby and I agreed to let them play their video games in bed. A real treat because we allow it so rarely. In all honesty it was less a treat for them and more of a strategy for us to be able to finish watching our movie without interruption.
I don't think 10 minutes went by when Buddy #1 came up the stairs sobbing and heartbroken. Through massive tears and halting voice he told us how he was playing his favourite game and had accidentally deleted his user profile that took him THREE WHOLE DAYS to build! I stifled a chuckle and tried to comfort him by saying he could have fun all over again rebuilding it.
"But there's more..." He continued. "Out of rage...I kind of deleted my buddy's too." At this admission he dissolved into a mess of sobs and regret. The sincerity of his remorse was endearing and quite adorable. But we told him that he would have to go and confess what he had done to his brother and ask forgiveness. We never heard from them for the rest of the evening so we assumed everything worked out.
The next morning Hubby wanted to make sure the offender had taken care of his responsibility and asked Buddy #2 if his brother had confessed his fault the night before.
"Oh, yeah." He said matter-of-factly. "It was an accident, I already forgave him."
At that Buddy #2 corrected him with much less compunction then he had the night before. "It wasn't an accident! I did it out of rage."
My youngest son was incensed! "WHAT?!?!"
Something tells me Buddy #2 thinks his brother took "togetherness" a little too far.
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