 |
| Chris, Andrew, and myself |
If I
stand up with excellent posture and stretch ever so slightly I might reach
sixty two inches tall. Truly, I am five foot one and a half. I, however,
always round up my height to 5’2”. My husband rounds down. He’s just a bit
under 6’7”, yet when asked he says he is 6’6”.
I have no
idea what would be like to be that tall. I thought I was tall in sixth grade
because during a dance unit in PE I was taller than most of the boys. I hated
it. I prayed I wouldn’t always be taller then the guys. God answered that prayer
and I ceased growing at that point. Thanks. |
| Can you tell Chris is bending over? |
In
college I met Chris and was in awe of his height. Then I met his brother
Andrew, who is even taller. (6’9”) In my short family, this stands out. In all
family photos Chris’s head hovers over the rest of us. In our wedding photos he
is bending his knees behind my dress. There are downfalls. Heads bonked in
doorways. The agony of shopping for shoes – size 16 isn’t easy to come by. Or
clothes in general. On the other hand cooking tonight was a breeze as items
from the top shelf of cabinets could just be handed to me. No scaling counters
required.
 |
| My boys - growing too fast! |
The only
downside to me is that my babies don’t feel like babies for long. Luke was born
three weeks early and was 8lbs. 2 oz. and 21 inches long. Liam was two weeks early
weighing in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 inches long. Here they are today an nine
and six years old respectively. I think I’m going to be passed soon. Off to
work on my posture, I need ever centimeter I can get.
Sorry for the poor quality pictures - my iPhone wasn't cooperating tonight!
Too funny! Your story made me think of my grandmother (a lovely memory). She was 5 feet and much shorter by the time she passed away at age 92. Whenever I saw her, even in my 30s, she would tell me she thought I had grown since my last visit. Thank you for stirring up that memory. Love that you included pictures to solidify the image of the height difference.
ReplyDeleteYour family is very nice looking, Katherine. It's always interesting to hear what people think about their height, rarely satisfied I think. Seeing those visions on TV doesn't help. I'm 5' 4" and we always joked that it was time for students to leave when they outgrew me (and most did by 8th grade for sure). Thanks for showing us your family. Your boys are so cute!
ReplyDeleteThe story of height difference and photos of your lovely family remind me of my parents. Mom is an even 5' and Dad is 6'4" I'm firmly in the middle.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5.3 and my husband is 62. But I loved the opportunity to wear fantastic high heels when I went out with him.
ReplyDeleteThis is my life! I left high school at a flat 5'. Yes, seriously. A few years ago I found out, to my surprise, that I must have grown a bit over college years, but never knew it. So now I'm a HUGE 5' 1".
ReplyDeleteMy husband isn't a giant - just 6'. But he looks enormous with my family. The big joke was at our wedding. We married young, and his little brother was only in 4th or 5th grade but was already as tall as me. Our group photos had my family with my husband towering over us and HIS family with me stuck in the middle looking like I was sitting down. His uncle even leaned over in the pews during rehearsal and said to another family member, "I think we can take them in basketball". *chuckles*
Fun post, and I did like the photos interspersed.
I actually loved being 5'.5". I remembering being ticked off when the doctor (for a sports physical in high school) told me I was 5'1". I have never wished I was taller. Nice to be in the skin you're in, I guess.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful family! I love how you included the pictures. Perspective is everything. You have some big boys in your family!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure I'll beat most of your readers out on the 'race to the bottom!' I'm 4'11" at best (that's actually giving myself a quarter inch). Almost all of my students are already taller than me when they reach 7th grade!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading and relating to your slice.
I'm also vertically challenged and unfortunately, horizontally enhanced these days. Sometimes wish I could hit a "rotate" button and reverse the proportions! My husband is over 6 feet tall, our kids will be tallish, and my students love to measure their height against mine. The photos were lovely, thanks for sharing this post. Short chicas unite - if we stand on top of one another's shoulder, we can take over the world (or at least the band playing from the cheap seats)!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved those pictures...what a great looking family! I resigned myself to being the shortest member of the family long ago, also the shortest person in my sixth grade class room by the time June rolls around. But, I'm still the boss at home (well, mostly) and at school ( in my classroom, anyway). So, I take comfort in that!
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! I'm 4'11 and one quarter inch. My youngest son is 6'5". My fourth graders eagerly await the day they pass me up! I'm like the class yardstick!
ReplyDeleteI love pictures to go along with stories. It makes it so much fun. Your family looks nice! I can't believe how tall they are! I don't remember thinking you were that short...maybe because we were sitting most of the time?
ReplyDeleteOh my! Before I started reading, I was wondering why you were on your knees in the first photo!!
ReplyDeleteI can relate!!! Only 5'1" myself, having stopped growing at 18. My 13 year old is now my height and still growing. I dated a man before I met my husband who was 6'2". Your pictures and wonderful descriptions brought me back to earlier times and memories - and made me smile. Thanks for helping me start my Saturday this way! : )
ReplyDeleteI am also married to a tall man - 6 feet 3 inches to my 5 feet 5 inches (and rapidly shrinking, it feels like). Not quite the discrepancy as in your family, but I feel your pain. :) In my next life, I'm coming back as a thinner woman with legs that go on forever. For now, I live with what I've got...
ReplyDeleteKatherine, you are actually taller than my wife, Vicki and she just says, 'Im not short, Im just not as tall as everyone else!' The pictures added a necessary perspective to your piece.Well done.
ReplyDeleteYour thinking about height certainly got a lot of responses. Who knew there were so many short bloggers? Being 5'8" I did not like seeing all the short girls with the tall fellows. It didn't seem fair. In my day, (that really makes me sound old), you just didn't go with a guy if he was shorter than you. I don't think that's so true any more. Look at George Clooney and Stacy Keibler.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elsie! When I was in college a volleyball player from our college told me that she didn't appreciate me "taking a tall guy". She was joking but I understood where she was coming from. :)
ReplyDeleteAlan - I love your wife's response!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! I love the idea of coming back with long legs - I envy those immensely!
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie! Glad you can relate. Now I assume all people 5'8" and under are near my height because they are shorter than Chris. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Love that LeAnn!
ReplyDeleteNot sure - we we're sitting a lot. I don't think of myself as short until I see pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the class yardstick comment. My students love passing me and my principal has told me to jump in line before because she thought I was a student. :)
ReplyDeleteTara, I understand. I moved from fourth to fifth grade last year. In fourth some kids would pass me. In fifth, most do. :)
ReplyDeleteKathleen - have never heard the term "horizontally enhanced" before. Love it and plan on using it because I am as well. :)
ReplyDeleteMardie - I can't believe how many "slicers" are shorter than I am! Liam's teacher is 4'10" tall and I always feel like I "tower" over her though obviously I do not. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer! I do and I adore them all.
ReplyDeleteKristi - I agree. I actually don't mind being short most of the time - except when I can't reach stuff.
ReplyDeleteMy dearest wish in college was to just grow one inch. Didn't happen but I still dream. Unfortunately I am now headed in the other direction. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely - heels are a must.
ReplyDeleteGlad I could trigger a memory!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda! I'm actually pretty satisfied and think of myself as taller than I am - until I see pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteYep - I think I'm going to be getting shorter soon. Glad I caused you to remember your grandmother!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is 5'1" on a good day and my dad is 6'4". They produced me, a female 5'6", my brothers who are about 5'10" and 6'0", and my sister who is 5'8" but still growing. I never really thought about height disparity being a big deal the way my taller female friends did. I ended up marrying a guy who is 5'8", so we are pretty much eye to eye. It's nice...and I'm curious about how tall our kids will end up being! Fun to think about, thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteKatherine,
ReplyDeleteLoved this post. I actually have the opposite problem. I'm about 5' 8." Not overly tall, but for a woman I seem to tower above most. In every picture I am in with a group of women I look like a giant. Last week, when the photographer came to take our staff picture I was immediately placed at the top. Yes, I can reach the highest of cupboard shelves. I get all the books on the top shelf of our book room to myself. But bending down to pick something up is a pain. Getting things from below the counter equally challenging.
Your post made me smile. I enjoyed the pictures of your family. Looks like your boys will be eye to eye with you soon.
Cathy
It's a good thing that the best things come in small packages! Small of stature, but I am going to go out on a limb and say large of soul. Nice share!
ReplyDeleteI, too, am short. It's frustrating sometimes. However, one has to make the best of it. I can relate to what you wrote!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is "tall" for her age (31"). I think she's fallen in the 90th percentile the past two doctor's visits, in height. I keep telling her to enjoy it while it lasts. With one parent (me) at 5'2" and one (my hubby) at 5'7", she doesn't have much of a shot at being that tall.
I love your humor and voice that shines through in this post. I also liked the integration of your pictures. They helped tell "the story."
ReplyDeleteI am the same height as you! People always crack short jokes around me. Kids say things like "I'm almost as tall as you!" But, it's ok...it would be sad if everyone was the same. Thanks for sharing your family pictures! I love the wedding photo!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is 6'7" also. I'm 5'4", my daughter is 5'10" and my almost 15 year-old is 6'2". I always have to watch out when my husband has hand on his hips because if he turns quickly, he can knock me out with his elbow. :)
ReplyDeleteDiana - I absolutely know what you are talking about with the turning around quickly. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! And I actually enjoy being short as long as I don't need to reach anything. Luckily I'm not afraid of heights and very adapt at scaling cabinets.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kari! I love using pictures in blogs.
ReplyDeleteMy mom is 5'2" and my dad is 5'9" so I knew I wasn't going to be growing too much. Who knows - maybe some recessive gene will be passed to your daughter and she will surprise you. My boys were consistently off the chart for height. Hilarious.
ReplyDeletePamela - what a kind thing to say. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy! One of my best friends growing up was 5'8" and she said the grass wasn't greener in her world. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I ended up having two boys but I did wonder if we had a daughter - would she end up being extremely tall and not happy about it?
ReplyDeleteI am 5'6 and work with several people who are A LOT taller than me. I like to throw on heels periodically to surprise my co-workers. Last Thursday our custodian walked past me and did a double take. I am usually shorter than he is but that day I was about an inch or two taller. For some reason it made me very happy to be taller than him that day. Thanks for sharing your post and making me smile. I wonder if your boys will find themselves somewhere in the middle of your families height spectrum. :)
ReplyDelete