Hangin' at the Mall

I must admit that I started this post a day ago or so, and then held off because I wasn't sure I wanted to post it. However, I think it's important to share these stories, because I know that other parents of Little People read this blog, and I think it's reassuring to know that you're not alone.

We had a little time over the weekend to take Liz to the mall where they have a perfect area for kids to play in. It didn't take Liz long to start running all over the play area. It's one of her favorite things to do, of course. And, in just minutes, she'd be-friended someone. That's also not a surprise given Liz's extroverted nature.

The girl, was probably close to twice her height, but about the same age. I'm only guessing. But the two seemed to have similar speaking abilities and enjoyed the same type of games.

They were playing a robust game of tag and obviously Liz is slower because of her little legs. This girl might as well have been a child-like Michael Jordan because she had really long legs.

Liz kept chasing her around and around trying to catch her. It didn't bother Liz one bit that she was much slower than this girl. They were having a great time.

Then, the little girl started to comment about Liz being slow saying things like: "You're slow. You're really slow. Wow, you're slow. You run very slow"

This is one of those situations where it's hard to see another child innocently pointing out your child's genetic faults. And, of course any smart 3-year-old doesn't make a comment just once, the repeat the same thing over and over again.

Of course, she's slower. Look at her legs. Her legs are probably the length of a 6 or 9-month olds (even though her total height is about the height of a 14-month old).

Her legs are much smaller and she gains most of her height from the torso.

Luckily the comments didn't phase Liz one bit, which is what really matters. And, the girl wasn't being mean. She was just pointing out an obvious fact. That's what children do.

Regardless, it didn't stop it from bothering Brian and I a bit.

I was also trying to mentally pass on suggestions to Liz of ways to tag the little girl- like taking a short-cut past the 6-foot bunny rather than following her all the way around the giant-sized turtle. After a little while, she started to do that. She must have read my mind.

Brian and I both also commented that she wasn't running her fastest. In Liz's mind, it was more fun chasing the little girl then actually catching her.

I've often hoped that it will be harder for me to handle people's comments then it is for Liz, and so far that's been true. She's so good natured that those little comments don't even phase her.

She will always be a little person and her perspective on life will be different than mine because of her height. Since I've lived my life as a person who is 5-feet-4 inches tall, it's hard to imagine being 4-feet-tall, but Liz is already handling the situation as a pro at age 3.

What a Kid!