Anyone who’s raised twin boys knows that when they are between the ages of 1 and 3, a period of silence lasting more than 13 seconds (when you don’t know FOR SURE that they’re asleep…IN their cribs) is not a gift for which you should give thanks.

It’s a warning sign.

Because nothing good is happening when twin 2-year-old boys are simultaneously quiet for a long stretch of time (and, again, by “long stretch,” I mean more than 13 seconds).

Frankly, this phenomenon doesn’t seem to change much as they age.

Case in point, the other day it was suddenly very quiet around here. Henry and George, who are 8 and 5 respectively, were playing Playstation 3 (without fighting, which most surely indicated that one of them was coming down with something), and I hadn’t seen Jack (who is Henry’s twin) in a while.

“Does anyone know where Jack is?” I asked.

“He’s upstairs,” answered Henry.

“Doing what?”

Jack is, in many ways, a 28-year-old in an 8-year-old’s body, so it didn’t shock me too terribly much when Henry replied, “He’s shaving.”