BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
Donald and David Moss are used to sharing things. They share the same birthday, and as kids shared a bedroom and had many of the same friends.
Now, the identical twins will share another milestone. The 51-year-old Saanich residents became grandfathers on the same day.
Donald’s daughter-in-law Ashley gave birth to a seven-pound, 11-ounce daughter named Malia Moss at 4 a.m. Sunday. Less than 10 hours later, at 1:25 p.m., David’s daughter Catherine MacDuff gave birth to a seven-pound little girl named Georgia Teresa MacDuff.
“Here we are identical twins and both of our kids had babies today. That was a major miracle,” Donald Moss said Sunday evening.
The uncanny coincidence happened because Ashley was a few days past her due date and Catherine was a few days early.
When David Moss exchanged congratulations over the phone with his brother, he said: “This is pretty unique right? We’re both grandfathers on the same day and we’re twins — you could have never called that one. It’s a long shot, I’d say.”
David Moss was at Victoria General Hospital Sunday night and got to see both Georgia and his great-niece Malia, who were in rooms just around the corner from each other.
“They both have really dark hair,” he said, the pride clearly audible in his voice. “Both are just beautiful little girls so we’re pretty happy.”
Malia’s parents are Shane and Ashley Moss, who have been married for less than a year. Georgia’s parents are Matt and Catherine MacDuff, who have been married just over one year. Both mothers are healthy and expect to leave hospital this week, after which there will be a big party to welcome the new family members, David Moss said.
Matt MacDuff, who is also an identical twin, said he predicted two months ago that his baby would be born on Nov. 21 — exactly one month after his Oct. 21 birthday.
“I predicted Nov. 21 but I didn’t predict it would be [two births] the same day,” MacDuff said. “I should have bought a lottery ticket.”
The newborns are the third and fourth great-grandchildren for the older twins’ parents — Bob and Marie Moss, 86 and 85, respectively. Donald Moss said his mother spent the day calling everyone she knew.
“I think it’s going to be a very exciting Christmas, that’s for sure,” he said.
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