Huddle Up is a weekly Q&A with Cardinals players on a variety of off-field topics. In this week's installment, running back David Johnson talks about what life is like as a triplet.
Question: What was the birth order of you and your sisters?
Answer:I'm middle. Danielle was first. Darnecia was third.
Q: What was it like growing up as triplets?
A: It was really cool, actually. There was never a boring or dull moment. But it being two girls, it was still a little harder. I played sports a little bit (without them) but we always hung out and talked about everything. We got through everything together.
Q: Has your mom told you what her reaction was when she was told she was having triplets?
A: She didn't tell me her reaction from it. She just said she was really big, obviously, so she couldn't see her feet. It was hard for her to walk around. She was always sitting down. She was always out of breath, had low energy. It was a hard nine months (laughter).
Q: Were you in the same classes as your sisters?
A: Not all three of us together, but me and one of my sisters were always in the same class. The thing is, they were both quiet. I got my talking from playing sports and everybody getting to know me. They were always quiet in class, and I would be the one talking. No one would even know they were in the class most of the time, and I'd be the one to go over and talk to them.
Q: Are you more cognizant of seeing other twins and triplets?
A: Yeah, always. If I hear of other triplets, it's a cool thing. Especially triplets, because you never hear of triplets. Even hearing about twins nowadays is something cool. Growing up, my elementary school celebrated twin or triplet day. We were always the ones everyone knew. That was a really cool thing. We'd get to talk to teachers and talk to other classmates that didn't even know. My other sisters are quiet and they're shorter, so it was always really cool to let teachers and everyone know we were triplets. If they don't know me, they actually don't believe me that I'm a triplet. I have to try to convince them, show them pictures. And even that doesn't help, because like I said, they're shorter.
Q: Do they look similar to each other?
A: No, none of us look the same. It's pretty funny.
Q: After hearing from your mom a little bit about it, do you think it would be hard to take care of three kids the same age?
A: (Laughter) Yes, that would be very hard. Oh, man, and my mom was a single parent. It was even harder for her. Having to feed three babies, having to change diapers. Just having to take care of three babies at the same time, that would definitely be some hard stuff. If I ever have triplets I'm definitely going to her to find out what to do to try to alleviate the problems that come with that. I can't imagine her having to raise us all. And I heard I was a bigger baby, so she always had to carry them two (together) and then me alone.
Q; So did she have any horror stories about when you were small?
A: I think one time she was trying to hold me and my sister, and she was sitting down and she ended up dropping me. Her arm got tired. I just fell on my legs or something, but I remember she was sitting down trying to feed us and I was squirming around. That's one of the funniest things, that she said she accidentally dropped me.
Q: Did she have the three-kid stroller?
A: Yeah, she did. She had the two in the back and the one in the front.
Q; Where did you ride?
A: I don't know. I bet I rode in the front. I hope I did. I was always trying to get ahead of them and beat them out. I think that's probably where I rode.
