Twins look forward to state twin convention

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The 40 miles between Utica and Lincoln don’t keep twins Jill Payne and Janae Spiker away from each other for too long.

They talk on the phone at least once a day, and they take Aug. 20, their birthday, off work each year to spend it together.

“I definitely think we’re closer than other sisters. It’s like being a sister and a best friend at the same time,” Payne said. “It’s hard to say because we’ve never been anything but twins.”

The pair will celebrate their twinhood with dozens of other twins at the Nebraska State Twin Associate Convention Oct. 19-21 in Kearney, and they’re hoping others from this area will join them.

About 34 out of every 1,000 people born in America are a twin, according to multiplesofamerica.org.

“I think there’s a lot more (twins) now. Even our high school had lots of twins, there were a couple other sets in our class,” Spiker said. “You hear a lot more about twins now. People are having kids later in life, and it’s a biology thing.”

“Being twins, you really notice them,” Payne said.

The two are identical twins—less common than fraternal twins, who share the same birthday but look different or may be of different genders.

“For us, the twin convention is a nice way to get to hang out with each other. It’s hard to find time,” Payne said.

Though Spiker joins Payne and her family for different activities, they don’t get to spend as much time together as they’d like because they live in different cities.

The annual convention allows them to connect with other sets of twins from around the state and bond over the relationships they have in common. Attendees enjoy meals together, activities and guest speakers.

Last year’s theme was “The Wizard of Oz,” so twins dressed up as characters from the film and heard a presentation from a meteorologist about the tornadoes that hit Grand Island in 1980.

This year’s theme is Mardi Gras, and the

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convention will feature entertainment and opportunities for twins to socialize with one another.

In elementary school, Payne and Spiker were separated in first and sixth grades but spent the rest of their years in the same class. They traded places in P.E. class a few times and had that bond no one else understood.

“Our fourth grade teacher would always get mad at us for looking at each other and laughing,” Payne said.

Going to college was the first time they were really recognized for their own identities.

“We went to two different colleges. It was kind of the first time that wasn’t the first thing people knew. We were always just the Spiker twins,” Spiker said.

People don’t always realize they’re twins now that they’re adults.

“I don’t really introduce myself as, ‘Hi, I’m Janae. I’m a twin’ in my career,” she said, though people sometimes confuse them when they’re apart.

They share the same hobbies and interests—horses, dogs and animals of all sorts.

“I’m always right,” Spiker said.

“Except for the times you’re not and I am,” Payne added.

They have an older brother, Jason, four years their senior.

“He’s been one to look at photo albums and say, ‘twins, twins, twins…oh, there’s one of me,’” Spiker said.

All four of their grandparents had twins in their backgrounds, and they have triplet cousins on their dad’s side, but they haven’t had any twin children.

The two were born in Billings, Montana, and have lived near each other most of their lives, though Spiker spent three years in Portland, Oregon, and some time in Colorado.

“I think that’s the furthest, geographically, we’ve been. We really sat on the phone and we’d just breathe,” Spiker said.

“We always find our way back to each other, or at least close,” Payne said.

More information and the registration form for the Nebraska Twin Convention may be found by searching the Nebraska State Twin Association on Facebook or at www.nebtwins.simplesite.com.

The convention is open to twins of all ages. The deadline to register is Sept. 28, and membership dues are free for those attending for the first time.