My inspiration for today's post comes from two sources. First I had to laugh when I saw this:
Somehow nobody looks really comfortable here!
But it used to work so well!
They finally worked it out!
And the second part of my inspiration goes to the dear young man that I was a nanny for, for 9 years. Luke was always a tall boy. He knew that there were genes in his family for becoming a VERY tall person. Some of Luke's male relatives are over 7 feet tall! I remember him doing everything he could to try to stop his rapid growth. He would drink coffee from a young age and was always willing to try anything else that would supposedly stunt his growth. Luke is 21 now and hasn't grown much in the last year. He is 6 foot 7. At this height, Luke claims that if he doesn't grown any taller then he will have succeeded in saving himself from becoming 'freakishly tall'. I'm guessing that from my own 5'4" viewpoint on the world Luke may think of me as simply puny. And although being short can sometimes be inconvenient, I don't think of it as so tough as being so darn tall that you tower over most other humans. Still, I am confident that Luke will grow psychologically to accept his own tall statured life as just fine, even if he grows some more.
I can imagine that becoming larger or taller than most people is very difficult, even just for everyday things like driving or walking around inside your own house. Of course there is an upside. I know I sure would appreciate some extra height when it comes to trimming my trees and being able to get up onto the roof. I also like the idea of being able to get away with eating a bit more of my favorite things!
How about you? Do you see the prospect of becoming a giant as something good or bad? Would you miss doing some of your favorite things (like my little dog that isn't quite as little as he used to be)? Or would you embrace the cool stuff that you could do that nobody else can?
As bad as it might be for a man to SUPER TALL, I think it would be worse to be SUPER SHORT. I am not talking about midgets, though that wouldn't be a picnic, but just regular old short. A guy coming in at 5'1" or something like that. I think I mentioned on my blog that I started taking ballroom dance classes recently. Mostly I attend group glasses and that means dancing with all of the men taking the class. I must say that it is easier to dance with a taller guy than a shorter one. The hold just feels strange when the guy's shoulders are below my own. Of course, I might say it feels equally odd if he were 6'7".... hmm.
ReplyDeleteNow, if I could be just A FEW inches taller, that would be great. I could reach what is on the top shelf in the kitchen. If I have to choose between my current height and being an Amazon... I think I will just stay right where I am.
It certainly seems to run true that a shorter woman/taller man is easier to be than vice versa. I've known a couple of women that I grew up with that are super tall and I know how much they hated it. They both mentioned that never being the 'cute' girly girl was especially tough. And then you have the tough part of dealing with men and their egos....
DeleteMy grandfather went by the nickname 'Shorty'. He was in construction and seemed to embrace his being different. Then again, he was very tough otherwise and his reputation made certain that no one would mess with him.
Ya know, I didn't realize that I was tall until after my strokes. After viewing the world sitting in a wheelchair, it was so strange standing and looking down on people. I had been looking up at them ;). I'm only 5' 7.5" but I guess that is tall, or at least feels tall.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are fairly tall for a woman. And having the unique experience of seeing things from another level is actually pretty cool.
DeleteI come from a family of short people and being 5'4" is rather tall for our bunch. That might be why many people have mentioned to me that they don't realize how short I am until they really think about it. I put off a much taller vibe!
I was one of the tallest kids in school until I hit high school. I remember hating being taller than everyone else. Yet, when I hit high school, I just stopped! I am now 5'5. I don't think I would want to be very tall, but I think I'd prefer it to being very short.
ReplyDeleteI laugh though, because my hubby is 6'3 so I have the advantage of having the tall one around to help me reach everything I can't.
I guess being "very" anything can have its good and bad points to it.
How funny, the very same thing happened to my sister. She is 5'6" and still very tall for our family. She was very annoyed at having lost her tall status at school when she stopped growing. I still think she is a perfect height as I often feel I would look better in clothes with a couple of more inches and that I could do certain things more easily. But there are always things that work better at certain heights. I guess we all have some advantages.
DeleteI'm 5 foot 9 inches and that's tall for a woman. I felt awkward in heels when I was a in my late teens early 20's and I love heels (but typically they put at 6ft). My mom kept reminding me, shoulders back, head up, and a smooth glide forward. Also nut to scrunch down and try to hide my height. I accepted and celebrated my height. All my brothers are 6ft -6'5. I fit in okay. :-) but there are things that are just as inconvenient for the very tall as there are for the too short. Like counter and sink heights or toilet stool heights, lol! Most of my brothers had to watch their heads when walking through a doorway.
ReplyDeleteSia McKye Over Coffee