Everything comes in threes for Wayne and Bonnie Vance of Lincoln. It started with cribs, then bicycles and now it’s high school diplomas and three college tuition payments.

Graduation is a special occasion for most parents. It was three times as special for the Lincoln couple, who proudly sat in the Mattanawcook Academy gymnasium earlier this week to watch their only children, triplet son and daughters, march up one behind the other to receive their diplomas.

After sharing schools, a treehouse and even the chicken pox together for the past 19 years, Kari, Joshua and Katie, who were born only minutes part, are about to go their separate ways for the first time.

“I can’t really believe that 19 years have passed since that eventful morning,” said Bonnie Vance in a recent interview.

The Vance triplets were the only set born in Maine in 1982. They were born on May 31 at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Kari came first at 5:01 a.m. Seven minutes later, Joshua was born and Katie came a minute later.

At first, it was three infants in one crib in the same room, then three cribs in the same room and then onto their own bedrooms.

Vance said she was lucky. The triplets didn’t all wake up at the same time for those middle-of-the-night feedings. Toilet training was a breeze. Kari loved the M&M treats she got for staying dry and so did Josh and Katie, who soon followed.

But, wintertime dressing wasn’t so easy. “I’d finally get the third one dressed and the first one would be back in because their boot had come off or they had to pee,” she recalled.

The Lincoln mom said that when the kids stopped doing something, that something ended for good such as “when they stopped believing in Santa Claus.”

When they started school, the three landed in the same classroom, only because there were only two classes.

“I didn’t want to have two of them together and one separate,” explained Vance. “I really wanted them all separate so they could do their own thing.”

The triplets have gone to the same schools together, but often sat in different classrooms, except in high school where they shared some classes. Katie took French. Kari and Josh took Spanish. Kari and Katie took clothing design. Josh and Kari took art and calculus together.

Fraternal triplets Kari, Joshua and Katie Vance are very different people. They don’t dress alike or act alike. Kari loves sports and being close to home. Josh loves art and hanging out with his friends. Katie loves fashion and wants to travel.

Katie loves shopping for clothes and shoes. She has about 40 pairs. She is a four-year member of the Student Council, French Club and Political Science Club. She is a four-year cheerleader and was a class officer for three years.

Kari is the athletic one. She played four years of high school field hockey, basketball and softball. Kari, who is a three-year all-star player for the Penobscot Valley Conference, has collected a number of top softball awards including player of the year, pitcher of the year and most valuable player for two years. She has been a member of the Spanish Club, a three-year member of the Student Council and a class officer and academic-award winner for four years.

Josh likes to express himself through art. He has been on the honor roll for three years. He played football for two years and wrestled for one. He likes skateboarding and performing as a DJ.

One thing the three do have in common is that they are not sure exactly what careers they will pursue.

Katie, who loves children, will be heading to Long Island, N.Y., this weekend to work as a nanny. She admits it’s going to be hard saving money for college with a great big shopping mall close by. From there, it will be the bright lights of Manhattan at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology, where she will major in advertising communications and marketing.

Josh and Kari will attend the University of Southern Maine at Gorham this fall.

Josh, who is looking for a summer job, is not sure whether he wants to be an art teacher or work in graphic arts. One thing he does know is that he wants to do something with his life.

Kari, who will spend the summer working at a Lincoln golf course and painting for another business, plans to take some basic college courses and hopes to play softball while deciding her career.

Like most brothers and sisters, the Vance triplets have had their share of arguments and fights growing up. But they are closer than they will openly admit. It’s evident by the way they glance at each other as though they know what the other is feeling.

Bonnie Vance says her three children have had their tiffs, but says the three have become closer.

“Even more so this year, knowing they are going to be going off in different directions and things aren’t going to be the same anymore,” related the mother.

Josh says having two sisters has been good.

“In school they could help you,” he said. Two sisters also means more girls are hanging around the house. “You have a super chance of finding a good looking girl.”

Katie and Kari say being triplets has meant they always have had people to play with. “We always had each other,” noted Katie. “It gives you someone to feel comfortable around,” adds Kari.

The Vance triplets have mixed feelings about their upcoming separation from each other and their parents. So do their parents.

Joshua says he will miss his two sisters. “But, I can go without seeing them everyday,” he said. “We will still have each other to call, plus I’ll always have my razor right where I need it.” His razor seems to mysteriously disappear from the bathroom vanity some mornings. “I use it,” confessed Katie.

Katie says the separation will be good. “We have never been our own people in the sense of trying to live and survive without each other or without Mom and Dad,” she said. “We never were bored. We always kept our parents on end, but it’s not like we will never see each other again.”

“It’s going to be tough for me,” revealed Kari. “I’m a momma’s girl. I like being around my family and people I know. If not, I’m just lost,” she said. But, Gorham is only three hours from home and Kari says she plans to visit often.

No matter where they wind up or what they do, the triplets say they will be taking with them all of the good memories of the fun they had growing up.

They won’t forget the great big birthday parties, playing in their backyard treehouse and the summers at camp flying down a water slide their father built for them.

“It’s been fun and I’ve loved every minute,” says Bonnie Vance. “It’s not just my kids I’m going to miss, it is all of the kids that have been coming here for 18 years. I’m going to have to adopt somebody and make believe I’m their mother.”