On Thursday November 20th, 1986, at 4:13 PM, Kristen Anne D’Elia was born. Two minutes later, at 4:15 PM, her brother Kenneth Michael D’Elia was born. They were born six weeks premature, and because of this, Krissi spent 18 days and Kenny spent 28 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They were born, and spent the first weeks of their lives at Winthrop Hospital, next to the Mineola Long Island Rail Road Station, and about 3/4 of a mile from our Mineola home.

As twins growing up, they had the usual “twin” experiences. Yes, they were close, from the earliest times of their lives when they liked being together, and even seemed to be able to communicate with each other, way before the rest of us could understand what they were saying. All through school they were close, sharing friends and interests, and generally being each other’s best friend. Going to different colleges was probably a challenge for them, but they still shared in each others lives, and even today in their 30s, they are still very close and generally know everything about each other, way before their Mom and Dad do!

In January, Krissi and her husband Mike bought and moved into a condo in New Rochelle, New York. In January, Kenny and his husband Chris moved into a new apartment in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The second weekend in April, Krissi and Mike came down from New York and spent the weekend with us in Ocean City. During that visit they told us that they’d been seriously contemplating adopting a cat. About a week later, we got the first pictures of our “Grand Cat” Marzipan….Mars for short.

Last week, we spent four days in St. Petersburg with Kenny and Chris, and heard how they had been cat adoption shopping too. Just the other day, we got a text and pictures of our second “Grand Cat”!! Say hello to Saint James Foxington of Petersburg, also known as Jimmy!

So 34 years and 5 plus months since these two entered this world at Winthrop Hospital, and living some 1170 miles apart, these two are still “connected”! Welcome to the family Mars and Jimmy…may you both have great lives with your new families!