Let me begin with, I have no idea who Sally is. Not a clue. But the too tall thing - now that I can relate to.
I was reading a rather popular novel the other day. It's all the talk of the book clubs and ladies' groups round these parts. The book is called The Help. One of the characters, Skeeter by name, is an intelligent, awkward, unattractive girl. Her height is often mentioned. She is towering, giant of a woman. She is a lofty, altitudinus, beanstalk of a woman. I kept wondering "How tall is this woman?" Imagine my chargrin when they mentioned her height. She was 5'11".
She was my height exactly.
Good heavens, what a blow! To know that in the late 1960's South I would have been an gawky anomaly! Well, actually I guess it's not that bad. I will obviously never live the late 1960's South. And I still would be revered in some Asian and Middle Eastern cultures for birthing four sons. But I digress . . .
Height is a strange thing. It can be wonderful, it can be terrible. I can see easily over crowds and spot things from a distance. I can lean to one side to distance myself from people that stand waaaay too close to my personal space. I can reach high shelves. I don't get heartburn when I'm pregnant. Of course I suffered untold embarassment (often) in high school, mostly because most boys were shorter than me. People like to make strange comments to me, such as "Do your feet feel really far away?" And my feet are really big, because they have to keep my great big self from falling on my face. But the biggest pain, the most annoying part of my height is clothing.
Sometimes I hear ladies ranting that all clothing is made for supermodels. Nay, I say unto you, ranting ladies. Nay! I am supermodel height and general weight (a little more nowadays) and let me tell you - clothing is not made for the tall, skinny woman. I can very rarely go into a store and buy clothes off the rack. Most of the time, it will just fit in the store and when I bring it home to wash it, it shrinks and the ankles/wrists are back. I'm waiting for the flood again. I about wept with joy when capris came back in style. Most pants that fit me around the waist look like capris anyway. And the midrift is always showing. No arm raising for me! After four childen and my religious unmentionables, my midrift should not be seen. And have you short ladies ever experience the larry-longcrouch effect while wearing nylons? I could pack an overnight bag in the space where my nylons should be and where they end up.
My children could tell you how often I expound on the evils of technology. But I freely admit, here and now, technology has it's uses. It's called online ordering my friends. And it's beautiful. Many stores carry tall sizes, but only online. Old Navy for one is cheap, fashionable, and has skinny tall sizes, not just fat tall sizes. (Why do the powers that be assume people who are tall are automatically fat? My husband often runs into this phenomenon). I just got an order today folks, hence the post. I now have shirts! that! fit! They are long, oh so beautifully, longingly long! They even add an extra 1/2 to the shoulders, bless their hearts! I got some jeans the other day from an even taller friend. I cannot tellyou the joy I experienced while looking down my legs to see wonderfully covered ankles and even some extra. They actually drag on the ground. The rapture! I had new shoes to go with them, a whopping size 11. They were pretty and cute and sporty and they fit wonderfully too. (Thanks honey!) How can I explain the unbounding joy, the sensation of peace and bliss that accompanies clothes that fit!
One last note - I am so thankful for my husband. No matter the size of the heels I wear, he's still always taller. No matter how big my feet are, his are bigger. So take hearts, my tall young friends, there is hope!
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