Feeling Short

I am 5'9". When I stand up completely straight that is. I have always been tall, and as a child, I hated being taller than the boys. It only added to my self-esteem issues. It wasn't until the boys caught up in high school that I became less concerned with my height, but by then, it was too late. As a result, I have horrible posture. So I look like I'm 5'7 1/2" or 5'8".

It takes a lot to make me feel short. Most of the people in my day to day life are my height or shorter. I am frequently the person people call to reach things on high shelves. After all this time, I have gotten used to being one of the taller people in the room.

At the family Christmas party last weekend, I truly felt short. My dad is 6'3", and two of his brothers are also 6' or 6'1". His youngest sister is at least my height. It's funny- half of Dad's siblings are tall and half are short. Maybe there was something in the water- the oldest four kids are shorter, and the last four are tall. So naturally, many of my 13 cousins are tall.

My sister is also 5'9", although because of my posture problems, she looks taller than I am. The youngest granddaughter is 5'9" and loves to wear high heels. She is 25, and when I hugged her, I came up to about her shoulder. I felt short! And I loved it!

Many of the grandsons are tall too. My dad is still the tallest in the family, but a couple of cousins are 6'-6'2". I stood between two of my younger male cousins,and it felt like they towered over me. I looked at the cousins I used to babysit, all who are now grown men. Tall men. Then I felt short and old. I didn't mind feeling short, but I could have done without feeling so old.

Here's a picture of 13 of the 15 grandchildren with Grandma & Grandpa. You can see- there's a lot of height in the family. Even the three in front are tall. Kristy is 5'7" (I think), Ashley is 5'9", and Michael is one of the boys who is at least 6'. Of course, I look shorter in this picture thanks to my old friend, the slouch!