The Long and Short of It

I'm five foot one when I stand straight. I've put on some weight over the years from my under 100 pounds until my thirties. I now weigh in at 58 kilos because I feel thinner when I quote in kilos.

Growing up, I didn't realize that I was short. My ex, whom I dated through high school, was just under six feet, but I didn't wear spike heels, afraid I'd be too tall for him.

I should have suspected I wasn't tall when at high school graduation when we were lined up by size that I was the third person.

Reality struck after university in my first job when I mentioned how tiny a new employee was. Tired of listening, a co-worker had us stand back-to-back. Ooops. She was a couple of inches taller and outweighed me by ten pounds.

My first job in Switzerland, a co-worker who shared the company apartment with me was just under six feet, a beautiful woman who never hunched over to hide her height. We were the Mutt and Jeff of the firm, for those that remember that cartoon.

Between the two of us we were able to discuss the advantages of being short or tall, not that it is something we could have changed.

My tall housemate was upset when my dog peed on her coat, worried the stains wouldn't come out. Of course I paid for the dry cleaning, and the stains disappeared. She explained to me that it was hard for her to find a coat that was long enough including sleeves that went over her wrists. I, on the other hand, was able to buy kids' clothes. However, anything patterned had to be shortened often losing the pattern.

When one is tall, they are seldom thought of as cute and/or adorable. Short people are never described as statuesque. And the cute and adorable label sometimes reduces how seriously a short person is taken. Then again, women are not often taken seriously even when tall, although a tall woman might intimidate a shorter male.

Tall people never need to ask for help to reach a top shelf in a grocery store or put things in an overhead bin in an airplane. Short people can ask for help. I went from being cute to being an older woman that needed help.

Despite this blog, I never really had body-type issues. I am what I am or at least what I thought I was. My tall roommate, too, felt she could flaunt the way she was.

Neither of us are drop-dead beautiful, but neither of us would cause a mirror to crack. At different stages of our lives we maximized our good appearances. Both of us developed our other attributes intellectually, professionally, socially, psychologically.

I do remember one recommendation a co-worker gave to my future employer. When asked if I had any faults after giving me a glowing review his reply was, "She's not very tall." It became a company joke when I was hired.

If I could be reborn, would I want to be tall? Probably not. It might be nice, however, to be able to sing well.