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My shoes are the purple ones on top. Woodjie's boots are in the middle and Emperor's new boots are (sort of) in the bin on the bottom. |
Emperor is 16 now and he has his permit. You would THINK that a minivan is not a little car, and therefore just about anyone not starring in "My 600 Pound Life" should be able to squeeze in and go, right?
Nope.
No matter how we adjust the seat or torque the steering column up and down, my child looks like he is giving birth to the steering wheel. I know the smartie engineers over at Chevy were so busy building cars that
don't explode and maybe even last a while (my Chevy is 16 years old!) that they forgot to account for the dimensions of actual people who are over five feet tall.
Poor Emperor. Now he has to duck to go down the stairs. He is only 6ft 6, but he is still growing and it's actually getting to be a bit of a problem because I now realise most things are just too little, including some doorways.
Even our furniture is all totally and absolutely wrong. When he's at the table trying to eat, Emperor's face is so far above his plate that everything will slop on the way to his mouth. So he slouches wayyy down to try to minimise this. I'm not sure he's even aware he's doing it.
I am working with a woodworker on Etsy to make a cherry wood place setting for him so he can eat at the table like a normal human being. I don't want a flimsy short "breakfast tray." I want something beautiful and made just for him to my specifications (note the highly detailed concept drawing I sent that poor woodworker). I cannot wait to see what it looks like when it is done. It will be a while.
I am hoping that this custom piece will help solve the terrible backaches he's been getting, trying to live in a little people world. Above are some of the exercises he has to do and hopefully they help a little. Otherwise, it's back to the doctor and maybe physical therapy.
One last pet peeve and I'll open the floor for comments (and ideas, please!). Who on earth decided that "tall" is between 6ft 1 and 6ft 3? That's the height range Eddie Bauer clothes will fit, and they're one of the better manufacturers I've found so far. I positively love love love the bargain we got on their boots (it is not easy getting a
men's size 14 at this price!) but it seems the best I can do at the moment is to buy the "tall" products in this catalogue and let the kid look like a white Urkel. I found a few "specialty" shops about on the internet but at $160 to $200 for a sweatshirt, it's not happening any time soon.