Indivisible by Two: Lily and Gillian

Those who do not work during usual "work week" hours perhaps got the chance to view Good Morning America this morning on television.

There was a segment about Nancy L. Segal's book Indivisible by Two, Lives of Extraordinary Twins. And within this, was the story of Lily and Gillian.

When I was younger, and I lived in the big white old house next to the church in Sackville, we had a student live with us. She must have lived with us for a few years, and she became part of the family. Her name was Allyson. At the time, she had a boyfriend named Kirk, and both practically lived at the house. Mom and Dad would delegate Kirk and Ally with planning birthday parties, and so looking back on old home-videos from Sackville, it is normal to see little girls running around in party hats, playing games, and crying because they did not win, all the while Ally will be talking in the background, telling us what to do, and how to play games, or not to get upset. Mom would be making the birthday cake, and the camera would show Dad and Kirk, playing the little electronic hockey game, which they are still both going to meetings to get over their addiction.

Kirk and Ally got married and moved to Toronto (or Georgina?), where they both are pastors at a church. In Sackville, they were great with Amy and I, and so no doubt would be good parents. Eventually they realized their options were greatly minimized and decided to adopt. I love the idea of adoption. It is such a beautiful thing to see a child who is so in need of love come to know two loving parents. I have always had the desire to adopt a child, I hate the thought of how many kids are alone and unloved. But I digress. Kirk and Allyson began their plans to adopt a little girl from China.

This is where the story gets blurry for me. I have heard it a few times before, but right now am not clear on all the details. I do know however, that they brought little Lily home and made her part of their family. I remember meeting Lily for the first time. She was a beautiful baby, and oh so smart! Despite her living in China for the main part of her life (at this point), she was grasping English quicker than even normal Canadian children do.

Eventually, I heard the story about Gillian. Somewhere else in Ontario (this story would be so much better if I knew details), only a short drive away, another family adopted a little Chinese baby. Somehow, they met and came upon the realization that Lily and Gillian were twin sisters. The first time I heard this story, I saw pictures of the two girls together, when they were about three or four years old. They were both so beautiful.

Here is where Segal's book comes in. In one of her chapters, she tells Gillian and Lily's story, a story about separated twins being raised as sisters. I wish I myself knew more of the story. This morning, on Good Morning America, there was a segment about their story, which Kirk and Ally told their friends via e*mail that the taping in their house took 10 hours!

If you did not get the chance to watch television this morning, then pick up August 30th's edition of People Magazine where the story will be told again.

It blows my mind to think about growing up with a twin sister living in a different community, but it is great that Lily and Gillian are being raised as sisters. I think it is such a miracle that the two families met. Talk about a story with a happy ending!