Always Tall 

I was always tall.  I remember my days at primary school when we had to form a line, with the short ones at one end and the taller ones at the other.  And guess who was always at the end – always last in line!!  Yep, me!

That was the way it was – always.  Now there were some benefits.  I always laughed that in at a sport or other crowded event, I could see above the crowd.  And I was easy to find in a mass of other people.

But there were negatives.  I really wanted to be in a community of tall people!

I didn’t always like being the tall one.  I wanted to be more like others.  I used to laugh and say it was hard for me to cry on someone’s shoulder.  Not that I cried much, but there were times that I was upset.

My feet were big too, and getting shoes I liked that fitted well has always been a problem.  And on a plane I like more leg room to be comfortable.  On the rare occasion, I was in a hospital bed, my feet hit the end.  I hate single beds because my feet push at the bed end.

Talking about feet, when in my teens and early 20’s high heeled shoes were what my peers wore and so did I.  Sometimes.  I never wanted to be taller.  But it was the fashion and I was someone who liked fashion.  I liked the look of them, but not what they did to me!

On a bunk bed on a train, I have to keep my knees bent, and I hit my head on things that normal people don’t.

There’s always a tall one

Friends

Is my height a bit intimidating for some friends, or would be friends?  Sometimes I think that my friendships with shorter folk are difficult.  I do like my friends to be as tall as me, but it doesn’t always happen.

Because I seem to be forever travelling/on the move, I have many friends, but not many really close friends wherever I “land”.  Still, I do have a pretty busy social life and am not complaining about not having enough friends.

I left home at 18, disconnected with school friends and cousins mostly, and worked and lived in 4 states in Australia.  Also worked overseas, so I am a bit of a wanderer I guess.

The Trouble with Company

I have travelled with friends, and in groups, but I am always causing trouble.  Particularly if I have my camera.  It takes a few minutes to set up a photo, take it, check that it worked properly, and move on.  Often my group has moved on.  Sometimes I can’t find them.  I slow them down for they are often on the lookout for me.  But, as I have mentioned earlier, I was usually easy to spot.

The Tall One in China

When I was teaching in China, I was always the tall one.  It did come with some benefits too.  Tall and with blonde hair, I was easily seen.  Even from a distance.  I remember something that happened in the first few weeks I was there.  I was walking around the West Lake and Hangzhou when I heard someone calling my name.  Dianne.  It was a lass that I had met only a couple of weeks earlier, a student at the university.  She recognised me from a short distance away.  My head was higher than the shorter Chinese.  I met her friends.  It was quite funny.

No Change Expected

I may have shrunk a little, but not a lot.  I am still tall.  Taller than most of the people I mix with.  I don’t expect things will be any different in the years I have left, and when I walk I like to walk tall.  My family are tall.  Including the grandchildren.  That’s Life.

#aussidi