In case you don’t know, and you may not, I am short. Not short enough to be considered a “little person” as categorized today, which is 4’10” and under; but I only beat that mark by 4″ so, it is safe to say that I am short. There are times I’ve pointed out what I consider to be a very short person and then realized they were taller than me. On the rare occasion that I walk by someone shorter than me, I confess, I pull myself up to my full stature and look down on them as I pass. It’s not nice.

My earliest memory of kindergarten was standing with my head tilted far back so I could see my fellow kindergartner’s faces.  I was always in the front row for school pictures and never had to worry about guys being shorter than me, even in middle school.  I have heard all of the jokes. My husband loves to comment that a “midget was driving his car”. Once while entertaining a couple of 5’9″ lady-friends for lunch, I was asked if I was even 5 feet tall. In my own kitchen no less!

True, being short does have its disadvantages, there are very few couches and chairs that I can sit comfortably on, even in my own living room. I do sometimes climb on my kitchen counters to reach things. I almost always have to climb on shelves in the grocery store. And, once when the back of our van was parked near a slight depression in the ground and I’d opened the trunk I couldn’t reach the handle to close it. Petite clothing is usually more expensive for less material, which still makes no sense to me. But still, overall, it’s not that bad and there are quite a few perks to being vertically challenged. Such as…

I can pretty much nap anywhere. People used to think I’m the youngest of my siblings because I’m the shortest, although I think my age is catching up with me now. I am never taller than people when I wear heels. Almost nobody can see up my nose. I almost never have to duck for anything. I was always very good at hide and seek. I’m a very good climber. I can hide behind people when it’s windy or cold. I have incredible calf muscles, which I attribute to years of standing on my tiptoes. My feet never stick out at the end of the bed and blankets are never too short. Low hotel room shower heads are never a problem, neither are teeny shower stalls. I have tiny feet, which means I can fit in kid size shoes, which are a lot cheaper. Finally, where flying first class isn’t  very comfortable, my feet don’t reach the ground in the seats; flying coach is perfect in any seat, window, middle, or aisle.

I have a tee shirt that says it best…

“God only allows things to grow until they are perfect. Some of us didn’t take as long as others.”

But it is, literally, not that big a deal.