She might be giant

I first met my husband in the summer of 2000, when we both worked for the Boston Red Sox. I will never forget the first moment we laid eyes on each other - it wasn't love at first site - but if you met him, you too would remember your first encounter.

I was sitting at my cubicle, and all of the sudden I look up and leaning on the top of the partitian dividing the cubes was this dark and very handsome fella, whom I assumed was standing on a chair, as the top of the divider came up to his mid chest. I stood up, and he came around the corner, and lo and behold he was not standing on a chair, but his own two VERY long legs...my husband is 6 foot 9 inches tall. Since we started dating, shortly after that encounter, I have seen him been asked hundreds of times "Whoa, how tall are you?" It happens every time we go out it feels like. There was even one time where some guy sitting at a bar stopped him as we passed and said "Put up your hand - I want to see how big it is!" Yes, we thought that was odd too!

Practicing her catwalk for
Fashion Week '27

When I was growing up I was always one of the tallest girls in my class. By the time I was in 7th grade I was basically the height I am now,  5 foot 9 inches tall. All of my girlfriends were small and petite, which was apparently what all the boys liked too. I grew to love my height (pun intended) as I got older, especially after meeting my husband, and have racked up quite a 4 inch plus heel collection. When we go out, we definitely get looks as we tower above most around us.

It was a given that any child we had would be tall. If you use a standard height predictor formula for girls (subtract five inches from Dad's height and average that number with Mom's height) M will be about 6 foot .5 inch tall when she is fully grown. And that height will definitely come in handy when she is at Wimbledon at age 18, defending her championship title from the year before...of course.

I thought it would be later in her little life that people would comment about her height though, but damn was I wrong. Not a day has gone by in the last week where we weren't asked her age, and after saying 21 months we get the "Wow, is she tall!" response. Every time we are out and about it seems that someone comments on her height. To me she is totally normal, but then when she is sitting next to a 3 year old at the little play table in Baby Gap and the mother says "Look Charlotte, another girl your age! When is her third birthday?" and I have to explain to the mother that she hasn't even turned two yet...I realize that we are in this for the long haul.

A few weeks ago at Costco an older woman commented on how cute M was, and then said "I have a grandchild her age, about 3 1/2?" And I responded with "Ha, no," and then the woman said "oh she is already 4!" and again i chuckled and said that she wasn't even 21 months yet...the woman audibly gasped and said she has never seen a child that tall at that age. Obviously she hasn't been around toddler much because it isn't like M is a foot taller than everyone else! She is about 35 inches now, but I think her big curly hair tends to throw people off, as it makes her look a tad taller.

But if all the books I have read are correct, she will most likely be over 6 feet tall when she is fully grown. I thank the powers that be for giving her daddy's long lean figure, and not my "athletic" build (which is now more of a saggy floppy bag of cottage cheese build), so there are chances of lucrative modeling/professional athlete careers in her future. We already have a tennis racquet waiting for her in closet! A parent can dream...