Claire wanted to visit her old preschool teachers this last week. Since her elementary school has been on Thanksgiving vacation and her preschool has not, we snuck in Tuesday morning to say Hi.
They all crooned to her in staggered rounds, "You're so tall!"
The refrain: TALL, tall, tAll, taLL.
A song scratched across my eardrums like a dusty record.
Later in the day we ran into friends we hadn't seen in a while. It was the same chorus. Claire, you're so tall. Look how tall you are. You've grown so much.
Claire, for her part, didn't seem fazed.
I try as hard as I can to make Tall seem positive for her. Tall is great! Tall is cool! You can reach things and see over heads!
But inside, when Tall dribbles out of people's mouths like blood, I writhe and gnash.
She's also brilliant! I want to cry. She's funny and spirited. And look at those dimples and that thick, chestnut hair.
Of course, though, Tall is the first noticeable thing about her.
I just have to give in and realize it is one of the themes with which we live. And understand that the world likes to exclaim the obvious.
I've heard that all my life, too. I guess people see "tall" as a "safe" topic.
Posted by: Karen (formerly kcinnova) | November 27, 2011 at 12:45 AM
Tall is a positive. At 5'5" I often feel like I'm looking straight into the eyes of my 6'3" husband. That's because in grade school I was the tallest in my class and everyone...family, friends, teachers, etc. commented that I was so tall throughout those formative years. Obviously, tall became a component of my inner view of myself...hmmmm. That inner perception is not at all helpful for reaching high objects though...giggle...for that I call upon Rich.
Posted by: Bev | November 27, 2011 at 07:05 AM
Height is a compliment, I think. And a gift. Though like any gift, it sometimes takes a little while to grow into it. (excuse the pun)
Posted by: Jennifer Jo | November 27, 2011 at 10:38 AM
My two have platinum blonde hair. It's striking. Strangers used to photograph them when I had them out in public when they were small. When we lived in Europe, Asian tourists would gather and have their photo taken with my kids (apparently very blonde hair is symbol of good luck in some Asian cultures). In Italy, there was A LOT of cheek pinching going on and exclamations over The Hair. My kids are teenagers now, and while they're two years apart, they get mistaken for twins and told they should be models. They also still get comments about the hair. Last week, my daughter was in the waiting room with me at the vet's and a woman on her way out, stopped, loudly exclaimed over my daughter's hair and petted it, for like 30 seconds. The fixation on their appearance has *always* made me uncomfortable.
Posted by: V-Grrrl @ Compost Studios | November 30, 2011 at 05:06 AM