I’m short. Five feet, one inch to be exact. However, I suspect I have started shrinking and I’m more like five feet on a good day.
I come from a long line of short people. I remember going to a family reunion once. I was in maybe the seventh grade. I was taller than all my mom’s family. None of these little women had reached five feet. It was kind of weird to be “big.” For the record, I’m the same height now as I was in the seventh grade. I think I’ve been the same height since like the fifth grade.
I’ve always been okay with being short. It has never really bothered me. Nor have I felt like I’ve missed out on things or been discriminated against because of my height. It helps that my husband is over six feet tall and can reach all the stuff in high places I need.
In fact, I usually do not like it when I encounter someone shorter than me. Honestly, it makes me uncomfortable. I’m so used to being the shortest person in the room. On the flip side, I have a very tall friend who is six feet, eight inches tall and it pisses him off beyond words when someone is taller than him. We all just like being the best at something. I’m good at being little.
I have been watching a lot of Match Madness. During my binging of basketball, I have become obsessed with a player on the Purdue men’s basketball team who is seven feet, four inches tall.
The guy’s name is Zach Edey. When the camera panned to the stands to show his family, I was equally taken aback by his mother. She looked really tall, so I googled that shit. Yep. She is six feet, three inches—an inch taller than my husband. I saw a pic of the dad. He must be at least six feet, six inches. These two had the genes for a tall kid, but seven feet plus? Goodnight! I just have not been able to stop thinking about being that tall or basically the exact opposite of who I am.
I was telling my daughter about this family on the phone. She was a bit in awe. Josie has always been in the ninetieth percentile for height for her age. She has made it to a very respectable five feet, five inches tall. She likes being tall. She was taller than me in middle school. At first, I was sad, but I got over it.
The older I have gotten the more I fantasize about being tall. In this same vein, I envision what it would be like to be athletic. These are two things I will never know. I’m hopeless. I would also like to be able to sing, but here we are. A tall Olympian who can carry a tune, I will never be.
Nevertheless, I love genetics and I love diversity. Yes, I’m short. That is cool. I love that there are people out there over seven feet tall. This world is a beautiful place, if we can just learn to accept and appreciate all the different creatures which make it up. How amazing would that be!?
In this life, I’m happy to continue to ask my husband for help reaching high things and he is content looking down on me. I mean that figuratively, not literally—most days.
Maybe in my next life I will be a basketball star playing center, who can sing the national anthem like Whitney freaking Houston. Dare to dream!
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
