Hooray for Being a Two-Two

Are you ready? Here is the story of how I got to have two houses and two families. The story starts a long time ago.

When I was little, I lived in one big house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting a lot. They explained to Andrew and me that they loved us very much, but they could not get along with each other anymore. So they got a divorce.

After the divorce, Mommy moved with Andrew and me to a little house not far away. She met a very nice man named Seth. Mommy and Seth got married. That is how Seth became my stepfather. So this is who lives at the little house: Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Rocky (Seth’s cat), Midgie (Seth’s dog), Emily Junior, and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).

Daddy stayed at the big house after the divorce. (It is the house he grew up in.) He met someone nice, too. Her name is Elizabeth. She and Daddy got married. That is how Elizabeth became my stepmother.

Elizabeth was married before and has four children. They are Kristy, who is thirteen and the best stepsister ever; David Michael, who is seven like me; and Sam and Charlie, who are so old they are in high school.

I already told you I have a sister named Emily. But I did not tell you that she is two and a half and was adopted from a faraway place called Vietnam. I love Emily a lot. That is why I named my rat after her.

Another person I love a lot is my step-grandmother, Nannie. Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. She came to the big house to help take care of Emily. But really she helps take care of everyone.

Now I will tell you about the pets at the big house. They are Shannon, David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Boo-Boo, Daddy’s cranky old tabby cat; Crystal Light the Second, my goldfish; and Goldfishie, Andrew’s chimpanzee. (Just kidding!) Oh, yes. Emily Junior and Bob live at the big house whenever Andrew and I are there.

Remember I said I did not have to take much to the big house? That is because Andrew and I have two of lots of different things. We keep one of each thing at each house. That way we do not have to carry so much back and forth when we switch. I have a special name for Andrew and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I got that name from a book my teacher read at school. It is called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) Andrew and I have two mommies and two daddies, two houses and two families, two cats and two dogs.

Here are some other things we each have two of. We have two sets of toys, clothes, and books. I have two bicycles. Andrew has two tricycles. I have two stuffed cats. Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house. I have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. And I have two best friends. Nancy Dawes lives next door to the little house. Hannie Papadakis lives across the street and one house over from the big house. Nancy and Hannie and I are in the same second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. (We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. That is because we like to do everything together.)

This year I will have two Christmases. I will have a little-house Christmas and a big-house Christmas. Hooray for being a two-two!