Features

Twin apples of mama's eye

By RASBERT TURNER, Star Writer

The Patterson twins - Rasbert Turner

SPANISH TOWN

FEBRUARY 5, 1996 was a very special day for Donnette Gayle.

It was the day when she gave birth to twin daughters Sashyna and Tashyna Patterson. Now nine years later they are the apple of her eyes.

THE WEEKEND STAR visited the rural community of Sligoville, St. Catherine, and spoke with both girls and was really surprised by their sharp wittiness. "I am the one who do most of the talking," remarked Sashyna the smaller of the two. They told THE STAR that they are students of the Rock Hall All Age School and their favourite subjects are Mathematics and Language Arts.

Donnette said having found out she was pregnant with twins she cried. "I was so frightened. I said Lord, a young girl like me how mi a go manage," she recalled. Looking back she said that she is thankful as the girls are now the apples of her eyes. When asked if she had a legacy of twins in the family, she said no but Andy Patterson, the children's father, has twins in his family.

Donnette said when the children were younger they usually fought each other. Now they only give the family lots of jokes and the consensus of other family members is that the home would have been dull without the twins' lively spirits.