Sibling separation: Stephenville quadruplets get ready for graduation
Since the moment Barbara O'Quinn found out she was pregnant she knew life was going to be different. It was when she found out how many babies she was expecting when she realized just how different it was going to be.
A quartet is born
On December 30, 1998, O'Quinn and her husband Glenn welcomed two girls, Shelby and Amber, along with two boys, Cody and Patrick, into the world.
Last month the kids, now grown up, started their final year of high school. As they prepare for the next chapter in life their parents are starting to think about how empty the nest will be next fall.
Well known around town
When the school bell rings at Stephenville High School it's not hard to find at least one of the quadruplets in the hallways. Not because they look alike, because they don't, but because they're likeable among peers and well known around school.
Standing out in a crowd isn't something that has come easy for the four-pack — three of them are incredibly shy.
"Well, everyone knows us for being the quadruplets. Like if they see us they would know who we were," says Shelby. "We got used to it after a while — everyone knowing who we were."
Despite standing out in a crowd, Shelby's like every other teenager in high school. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her friends, surfing the net, and during the summer, camping.
As shy as Shelby is, her sister Amber and brother Patrick are much more reserved. In fact, when CBC came to their home, they didn't want to be interviewed for the story.
Then there's Cody. Despite being the youngest of the four, he's the leader of the pack and he's quite the opposite of shy and reserved.
He spends his free time writing songs, acting and performing on any stage that he has a chance.
Around his friends at school he's known as "O, Canada". The nickname isn't the most creative, but it's direct and to the point; one of the recurring gigs Cody gets is singing the anthem before any major event around town.
Raising four kids at once
While Cody works on his music on this particular afternoon, the mother of the quadruplets, Barbara O'Quinn, is reminiscing over the past sixteen years.
September was an emotional month for her, watching as the four teenagers settled into Grade 12. She finds it hard to believe that the kids are now in their last year of high school and she's trying to imagine what next fall will be like for her and husband at home.
"I guess the busyness will be stopping, but I guess it's going to be the saddest," she said.
"I'm sure I'll be in their rooms reminiscing of all the days when they were younger and the ups and downs and everything else that goes with it. I think it's going to take a while, but I think we'll be fine."
O'Quinn has taken out some old photo albums to remember dressing the kids up for Halloween. One of their favourite television shows was the Teletubbies.
Needless to say the foursome went door-to-door trick-or-treating dressed as the rainbow-coloured aliens.
With the quadruplets turning 17 in a couple of months, mom is bracing herself for four brand new drivers. Most families find it stressful enough when one teenager starts driving.
Aside from the sleepless nights, driving comes with a heavy price tag. The O'Quinn's have four times the expenses, but for them it's business as usual. Raising four kids at once meant finding creative ways to cut down on costs.
"I sew, I bake, I cook. I'm working one full-time job and I work a part-time job," said mom Barbara.
"One of the children works two jobs, so everything is a help and everybody pulls their weight here. It's just one day at a time and we're doing all right, I guess."
For the kids, pitching in and helping out mom and dad was always common sense.
"Well, me and my sister are more responsible for doing the dishes or the laundry or anything like that — when mom is too tired or isn't home," said Shelby.
"And my brothers are more bringing out the garbage or shoveling the driveway, raking or anything like that."
A rare bond
Amber and Patrick were too shy to talk to CBC for this story, but from what Shelby and Cody said it seems like the two girls are extremely close with one another. The boys are close with each other, too.
Patrick spends a lot of his time skateboarding around Stephenville on his longboard and when he's not doing that, he can normally be found playing video games with Cody.
Despite being close with each other, the foursome couldn't be anymore different. That's going to take them in different directions next September.
No one knows for sure what they'll be doing next fall, but there's some ideas floating around. Cody has his sights set on pursuing music.
"I'm really into a lot of stuff, so it's really hard to figure out what degree I want to go for right away," he said.
"I'm not too sure what I want to do, but I know whatever I want to do, it's going to do with music."
Shelby has been considering a career with the RCMP. She doesn't know what Amber is planning, but she's accepted that they'll be in different places for the first time.
"It's going to be very different because me and my sister are stuck together like glue usually. Everywhere I go she usually goes, so it's going to be different not having them around."
The next chapter for the quadruplets is yet to be written. Like all Grade 12 students, they still have time to make up their minds for next year.
While they try to figure out their futures, mom and dad prepare for the biggest change of all: they're facing an empty nest that will seem a little emptier than most.
