The Long and Short of It

We all face challenges in our lives, but Big and Little Sis have one in common. That is the challenge of, well quite frankly being 5 ft and 5ft 3″ respectively, in a world that is 5ft 5.” Even when we wear heels it doesn’t help. We still can’t reach the top shelf at the Grocery Store.

At the risk of sounding like pathetic whiners, we would like to take this opportunity to share some of what we go through on a daily basis. So take a seat. (Your feet will likely touch the floor) You are about to enter our world where that is often not the case.

One Must Always Be Prepared to Improvise

We have both learned over time that one must always be prepared to improvise to get what we want, or get something done. I have to say the most creative bit of thinking I have seen in a long time is the foot stool Big Sis takes with her while flying. Some airline seats will comfortably accommodate her short legs, others not so much, so she has devised what some might call an ingenious solution. She created a “foot stool” that she can rest her feet on and sit comfortably. (Yes,it’s an empty shoe box that conveniently provides extra, easily accessible storage😉) I am in awe of her remarkable innovation, and I am going to use it the next time I fly as I can’t stand it, when my feet don’t touch the ground.

I can relate to this too. When I used to work for a large company, there were not a lot of women in Management, and sometimes I got overlooked, literally. Boardroom settings were designed for men, so the first thing I had to do was adjust my chair down to keep my feet on the ground, but when I went to sit in it I looked like a little kid at the big kids table. If I didn’t do this, my feet would dangle and that was too uncomfortable. I  soon realized that if I left the chair as is and put my brief case on the ground I could put my feet on it,  and would at least be at shoulder level so they could actually see me. Needless to say I went through quite a few brief cases.

Everyday Occurrences

You might not be aware of the fact that we face many other everyday obstacles that we simply have to endure. Sadly, the world is not going to change, and so we adapt.

House hold appliances can be a particular challenge. Top loading washing machines, and fridges were built for people of average height. In Big Sis’ case I am not sure if it’s because she is short in stature or just has short arms, but although she desperately wanted a top loading washing machine, it was quickly ruled out because the tub was too deep for her to reach to the bottom.

The fridge is a problem too. Big Sis recently purchased a shiny new state of the art fridge. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize the difficulty she would have reaching items at the back of the top shelf. She has all the items in the fridge organized so they are at the front of the shelf and easy to reach. This makes total sense until someone of average height puts something out of reach at the back. It may never be retrieved.

I can so identify. Being able to reach the cupboard above our fridge where all the snacks are kept involves getting a kitchen chair to stand on to get the goods. I know my husband puts them there on purpose as he knows I love junk food. Fortunately, that hasn’t stopped me yet.

And let’s not forget to mention our adventures at the Gym. Certain equipment can really create a problem for me. The Lat Pull Down machine in particular, always has the wrong handle on it and when I need to change it, I have to stand on the bench part of it and pull the cable down. I can only imagine what that looks like. Sometimes someone will offer to help and that restores my faith in humanity.

Big Sis maintains that height discrimination is rampant at the Gym. She is convinced that she has to try harder at many things, particular the stupid “step up box”, simply because her legs are so short. It is much easier for people with longer legs because they don’t have so far to push up. She remains angry but undaunted.

Big Sis also experienced another egregious example just the other day while helping her hubby rake leaves. He needed another bag and she graciously agreed to open one. As usual the bag was too deep for her petite frame but she nimbly improvised a unique solution. See for yourself.

Clothes Make The Woman

Of course the most obvious problem we face is with women’s apparel, especially when it come to pants. Pants are definitely a problem. We have to buy them off the rack but we have to factor in if it’s worth it because we always know they are going to be way too long and there will be the additional cost for hemming them. (I have always wondered why, when you do get them hemmed, they never give back the extra cloth. They should. We paid for it.)

One small saving grace are capri pants. For most people, they are a 3/4 length. For us, they are full length, thank goodness. Without them we are doomed to perpetual hemming. Even buying shorts can pose the same problem, but with shorts at least we can hike them up, and they look okay.

I think you get the picture. Shopping can be a nightmare for us. They just don’t make clothes for wee dainty folks like us.

So, What Can We Do?

Well, as Big Sis has already pointed out, this could technically be a form of discrimination. We can’t help that we inherited our short stature, and frankly it is our opinion that this is blatantly unfair. In fact, there are so many of us worldwide that a class action law suit would not be out of the question. We would target appliance companies, airlines, boardrooms, compost bag companies and women’s apparel stores to start, since they appear to be the biggest perpetrators of our problem.

Just kidding. We both realize the world can be a cruel and unforgiving place when it comes to people of our stature, but we soldier on, and keep the dream alive that one day the world will see us as equals and accommodate our disability….especially the appliance companies, airlines, boardrooms, compost bag companies and women’s apparel stores.

We plan to publish a post every Monday, so stay tuned for our next one titled “Driving Miss Kerri.”