Life isn’t fair when you are a tall child.  Just because you grew fast didn’t mean you matured any faster, so why did adults expect you to behave in a mature manner?

“I’m surprised that a big girl like you is crying”  or  “why is a big girl like you acting so silly”, were some of the admonishments I had to put up with.  Look lady, I am only seven, I wanted to say but I had been brought up to respect my elders, so kept quiet.

Why is it that a slow growing child is given all sorts of excuses to misbehave while a fast grower is supposed to set a good example?  It’s not fair and I wanted to tell the world that.

In the school Christmas pageant I always had to play the Angel Gabriel, this meant I stood on a stool, in my cardboard wings with tinsel in my long blond hair and didn’t get a line.  I just had to stand quietly and look angelic.

Meanwhile, in front of me was an assembly of kids dressed as shepherds, wise men and the Holy Family, all of whom got to move about, learn lines and be heard.  How could I be the star of the show and earn applause if I just stood there quietly.

When non-religious concerts were organized, I got to be a tree or something equally unappealing.  I never got to be a fairy or anything cute.  When I was eight, I joined a dance troupe and, guess what, I got to act as a boy!!!  No cute dresses for me that had to be changed for every act, no I wore brown pants, a shirt and a hat.

When I was sixteen the craze came out for crinoline skirts and five inch heels.  I was in Heaven.  I could wear frills and umpteen petticoats under my lovely skirts.  Trouble is, if I went to dances I was afraid to get up when asked to dance.  What if the boy was smaller than me?  I was well over six feet in my heels and, at that age, I would not suffer the indignity of dancing with anyone shorter than myself.  I had a friend who was equally tall and awkward so we used to hang out together and pretend we were having a great old time when, actually, we felt like smacking the cute, short girls dancing with taller boys.

At seventeen, I met Dave, all six feet three inches of him.  I didn’t particularly care for him, but persevered because we looked good together.  Of course, he turned out to be the love of my life and his mom was the same height as me, so we got on right from the start.

As I gained more confidence I felt comfortable with my height but still felt annoyed when people asked me “how is the view up there”?  I got braver as I aged and used to reply, all I can see is your dandruff.  Rather nasty but served them right.

I did benefit from my height at sales, I could see over smaller people and reach for bargains.  I also never have any trouble reaching items from high shelves.

When our four daughters were born, I encouraged them to enjoy their height, just as well as three of them are over six feet tall, the smallest is 5ft 9, and I was now the shortest in the family.  When we all went out for dinner, it is amazing how many people thought they were basketball players.

It seems now that there is a bigger percentage of taller people and, over the years, I have lost a couple of inches of height.  However I still tower over many of my friends.  Nowadays if people mention how tall my family is, I just say it is a true blessing because we are closer to heaven.