Perception

So - this morning as the thunder & lighting was doing it snap, crackle, & pop I couldn't help think about perception. I was thinking about that when I was about 7, the storms seemed to go on forever. And I wasn't sure if the storms were really longer when I was 7 or if I just wanted to be outside so much that it seemed to go on forever.

The same goes for snow. I remember there being so much more snow growing up and now there doesn't seem to be all that much (I should knock on wood, because now I am just asking to get hammered with snow this winter).

I remember when I was young, I used to love trying on my aunt Mary's shoes when she would babysit us. The favorites were her heels. I think they were really only a half inch heel, maybe an inch heel. I don't think she had much taller than that. But as a kid that was huge! And her feet were huge - they aren't really but when you are a kid sticking your stocking toes in there they certainly seem huge. I laugh at the fact that I thought they were huge, because now I wear a size 10 (as does my sisters and mom) but my aunt Mary only wear about a size 7.

Also - when I go back to a place I spent a significant time as a child - the places just don't seem as big anymore -- my grade school, the duplex we lived until I was in 5th grade that my youngest sister now lives in -- all seemed to much larger. It's almost a shock when you go back and they just are not as big as you remember.

Now - if I thought those things were much larger and last much longer - I can just imagine what my nephews or any friends' kids think when they come over here. We're living in this huge house with 4 levels and so many doors that most adults get lost. Andy is 6'4 with a size 14 shoe (which is definitly above the average) and I am 5'7 and wear a size 10 shoe (again - above average).

I found this on the USAtoday.com website:
American women, on the average, wear a size 8-wide shoe (American men: size 10.5) — Approximately 68% of American women wear shoes between the sizes of 6.5 and 9.5.
Average height for women: 5 feet, 4 inches (163 cm). About 68% are between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 7 inches.
Average height for men: 5 feet, 9 inches (174 cm). About 68% are between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 11 inches.

What are those kids thinking when they come to our place - it's like giants living in a giant house.

My friend Alicia tells the kids at school that I live in a mansion - it's not really a mansion - but she's like 5'3 (could be shorter) and I suppose from her perception it might look more like a mansion than from way up here.

Perception is a tricky thing, but interesting.