My Father

I thought that I should explain the title of my blog. I am a tiny girl and always have been. In fact my entire family is. As a small child I was never really aware of my stature and indeed had no idea of the comments that would follow me through life. When I started school, I was immediately singled out by the other kids (girls mostly, boys liked me) and teased about my height or lack of it. At the dinner table that night I was not my usual jovial self. I was quiet and withdrawn. My father, who very seldom participated at the family dinner table, looked at me with a concerned look and asked me what was wrong. I was 4 and already quite articulate. I thought and chose my words carefully. "The other kids at school today were teasing me. They were laughing at me and calling me small." My father folded up his newspaper and placed it down on the table. He looked off to the corner of the kitchen and took a deep breath as I held mine in anticipation. He looked angry but I couldn't imagine that it was at me. I waited....He turned to me and said something that I would carry with me through life. My father spoke to me very seldom but when he did, he always said something profound. "Don't ever let them call you small Debbie.....You are short. Short is not the same as small, the tallest man in the world can be small." I knew what that meant even at 4. In that sentence I knew that short described my physical being but small somehow attacked who I was. I knew that I was short but I was not by any means a small person. I sat up in my chair and suddenly I was filled with pride. Still to this day, if someone calls me small, I politely correct them. "I am short, not small."