(you might want to read Paige's post first if you want this to make sense ...)
Hi Paige. My name is Janae, and I am tall. 5 feet 9 inches to be exact. I can see how being short is hard. I only stare at people's heads, rather than their backs, at shows. My husband and I use the same driver's seat setting to reach the pedals. Due to both my height and my 'monkey arms' (my wingspan is longer than my height - ideally they should be the same), my husband actually asks me to reach for stuff in the cupboards. And I'm tall enough to be a model (although I think I'd rather die first).But I'd be willing to give all that up. If you'd like some of my inches, YOU CAN HAVE THEM. I hate being tall. And I'll tell you why:
5. I hate that I was taller than all but ONE boy my age by 8th grade.
4. I hate that a lot of boys ignored me in high school because I was bigger than them. (It's a good thing Sam and I hadn't met because he would have been one of them. He was a shorty.)
3. I hate that I have found one - yes ONE - pair of pants that are long enough for my legs. I'm sick of taking out the hem to lengthen all my pant legs so that they don't hang in flood position all the time.
2. I hate that I can never wear heels. 1" is the max I can do. Not only because my husband is short (5' 10.5") but also because in regular heels I hit 6' - which draws all sorts of rude "Aren't you huge?!" comments from people.
1. I hate that being tall makes me feel like a beast. Or a mammoth. Women are supposed to be petite. They are supposed to be enveloped in the arms of the man they love. Since Sam grew up with you as one of his best friends, I secretly think he expected to marry a dainty girl like you. Instead he got stuck with a giantess.
Take the inches, they're yours.
18 comments:
I see where both of you are coming from...I wouldn't mind being say an inch or two taller at times than my current 5'4" stature, but generally, I'm pretty happy where I am. I usually don't have to change the hem in my pants but, my larger thighs to my smaller waist has me constantly adjusting the waist-line.....that's a whole other can of worms you could get in to I'm sure.
...the grass is almost always greener...
Ha ha! I think Krishele said it best...I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. :)
haha! love to see the other side of it as well. my dad always says that in the resurrection everyone will be put back to their perfect "short" height...just like he is now! so maybe you can look forward to that =)
I'm 6'1". I really enjoy being tall. A modeling agency actually said I was TOO tall! Ha ha... I have one GIANT complaint-I AM AFRAID MY KIDS ARE GOING TO BE HUGE and I won't be able to find shoes and beds big enough for them! Eek!! :) Did I mention Jason is 6'7"? And Autumn already wears a 4T (she isn't even 3 yet!). Funny. Love your posts, Janae! Keep 'em coming.
I love being tall! I'm 5'10"-ish And I totally wear heals even though it makes me taller than Layne. He likes it.
Oh, by the way, Layne said that he would never describe you as being a mammoth...a giraffe maybe but not a mammoth. Just kidding, he said that he would never describe you as being huge. He thought you were 5'7"-ish.
Somehow I never felt that being short got me any extra attention from guys...
I know lots of tall, ~6' women, and many of them wear heels and look great. One of my friends in YW growing up was about 6' tall from age 12 on. (I'm too lazy to wear heels!)
Nathan's only like 5'7" or 5'8", so I'm glad I'm shorter than him. But any guy taller than 6'1" felt too tall for me. I dated one.
Being short does tend to show the pounds though! 140 is chubby on me!
Another disadvantage of shortness: people always thought I was really young. And patted my head.
Hey, girl. I think you need to make a list of the GOOD things.
Don't you remember your post on thinking positive? And the experience on your mission? NOW DO IT.
NOW.
(Also, I'm only three inches shorter than my husband and I feel the exact same way as you do. Sigh ....)
Well, I'm your height...and, truth be told, I like my height. I just don't like my husband's height (and inch shorter than me). I'd add a few inches to him if I could. :) And...I just started wearing heals again, which I haven't done since I met Barry almost 10 years ago. I only wear them on Sundays and, luckily, we are both so busy at church, we rarely are standing next to each other so it's not a big deal. :) Now, just because I like my height, doesn't mean I don't get uncomfortable at times. Like when we get together with Barry's family, some of which are under 5 feet. Then I feel like Goliath with a bunch of little Davids. But besides that, I like it. :)
Janae, I totally agree with you that being tall has its disadvantages, including being taller than all the boys and not being able to wear heels. (I threw all mine out when Matt and I got married because we are the EXACT same height) But I do think it pays off when we tall girls are preggo. I barely show cause my super-long torso is plenty big for the baby. But short girls tend to get huge cause there is nowhere for baby to go but out!
A - to the - men. I'm with you. If I could just cut a few inches off my legs I'd be fine. Although you always seemed very petite to me. Possibly because I'm a whole inch taller than you are. It took me a minute to realize, "Oh yeah, she was tall." And positive thinking may do a lot of things for us, but it can't erase the memories of slow dancing with short guys. Eeek!
I can see how the whole guy's shorter than you thing would be hard, especially a teenager. You are not a giant. You're tall and slender (it's different trust me).
On the opposite end I had a few really short guys ask me out just because I was short... not why you want someone to like you (don't worry Matt wasn't one of them). Also when I was 18 all the little 14 year olds would ask me to dance. Then when I would tell them I was a senior they would be too embarrassed to talk to me. Some of my 5th grade students were taller than me and I looked so young I terrified the parents I'm sure. And you heard the one about the old ladies thinking I was a teen mother right? Not to mention that all tall girls hate me now because my husband is so tall... and we're known as the short and tall couple. I think average people have all the luck!
I don't think you're tall or a giantess! You're at perfect kissing height!
If you were 6'7", I'd have to think about buying some stilts or something, and that's only because I'd feel weird if you could dunk it over me.
High heels? Go for it. Although I still don't understand the rationale behind heels. Call me crazy.
Wow, I've heard of the agonies of tall women, but you summed it up well. I'm afraid I am exactly average (5'6.5") so I have no idea what it's like to be short or tall. Maybe being in the middle helps me sympathize with both types?
And I agree with Sam. Heels are weird and they hurt. Don't most women wear heels to make them taller on purpose, because they think they're too short?
I knew this girl that started wearing heels when she was thirteen. Because she was still growing and wore heels all the time, by the time she was 16 her calf tendons hadn't grown long enough and she literally couldn't put her feet flat on the floor. She had freaking Barbie feet! Now that is weird and sad. And I'm not sure where I was going with that... but oh well! Anyway, I think you are very elegant.
Janae, although I've only met you once, I don't think you're giant or any of those fun words you used. Heels are over rated. I enjoy comfort when it comes to my feet. I used to wear heels when I was teaching. No more. I stick with comfy flats! Besides, can you imagine running after your kids at church in heels? That would just add to the disaster!
I think women wear heels because it lengthens your legs and makes them look more shapely... That's what I've heard anyway. I'll wear heels occassionally but I'm not a big fan even though I probably should be!
Hi Janae! (this is Joseph's friend Paige) I just wanted to let you know how much I love reading your blog :) And that I totally empathize with every single item in this post! haha Every time I wear heels to church people look at me and say "aren't you tall enough??" Sheesh :P
Oh well, at least we never have to "ask for assistance" for things on top shelves :)
I always felt tall at 5'9" until I met my husband and his family (I believe you know his sister:). Now I feel relateively normal until I'm around other people again...how do tall people survive? Most of my friends growing up were my height or taller so we stood out. Sometimes, I'd gladly give an inch or three away, especially if it meant being dainty...but now that my daughters may be "giants" I have to embrace the height and even dare to wear my 2 or 3" heals once in a while:). (With a 6'8" husband you can kind of get away with it:).
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