Life’s too short and so is that dress

Ever since a mad, eighth-grade growth spurt changed me from a 5-3 person of average height to a 5-9 relative giant, I’ve understood that some things are just too short.

Most shower heads, for instance, aim for the top of an average person’s head and spray water just south of a tall person’s jugular. Gymnasts we’re not, but we tall people all have had to do a backbend in a shower stall just to wash the shampoo out of our heads at one time or another.

Pants are too short for most tall people, so we buy them extra long, stretch them when they’re wet and air dry them.

Dresses described online as knee-length generally end up thigh-length, and leave us north-of-fifty tall women aghast when we try them on.

The older I get, the more I realize that some things are just too damn short.

Summer is too short. Weekends are too short. Childhood is too short. Family vacations are always too short.

Mostly, though, life is too short.

It’s too short for the bickering, too short to dismiss friends because they do not agree with you. Honestly, this has never made sense to me. Deep conversations in which each party learns a little more about the other are friendship’s gift, not its burden.

Life’s too short to waste time trolling someone else’s life when you should be out enjoying yours. The internet is a wonderful resource, but it’s no place to live. There’s a whole world full of fresh air and sunshine out there. Stick your head outside and take a breath!

My friend Joe wrote a beautiful piece last week that reminded me life is too short. It’s too short to pass up a single opportunity to make a memory, or make amends.

Days are getting longer, but they’re still too short.

Call your mother. Thank a mentor. Buy the ticket. Plan a trip. Pay a compliment. Solve a problem. Take a chance. Have a conversation. Make a friend.

Today’s all we’ve got and it’s way too short to waste.