The Mommy Affect: Tanasha (Pretty TALL Style) & Mary

The Mommy Affect Description:
Each day this week I will share one to two stories leading up to Mother’s Day. The purpose for TALL District’s Mommy Affect Series is to honor moms who make a difference in our tall lives. It also provides an opportunity to shed light on the ‘tall’ impact that mothers and mother figures of all heights (short, tall, average) have on their tall daughters ‘height experience’ and confidence.

Introduction:
Allow me to introduce one of my fave DIY bloggers, 6’4” Tanasha of Pretty Tall Style – a DIY blog for Tallistas and her twin Tallista a.k.a. her mom 5’11” Mary. They are both, respectively, from San Diego (love San Diego – especially Torrey Pines) and Vista, California.

Tanasha & Mary’s Story
  Daughter:             Mother:
 Tanasha                Mary
6’4”                    5’11”

Mommy Affect: Daughter’s Perspective (Tanasha)

Moms Impact
My mom had a positive impact on my height and confidence. As a young girl I remember my mother always had my little sister and I dressed to the nines. She went out of her way to find cute clothes and shoes that fit me. When my pediatrician asked her if she wanted to give me some type of hormone that would stunt my growth, she refused. I didn’t realize it at the time but this small step showed me that My height was not something that need to be fixed or stunted.  I was fine just the way I was, as God had intended.

Activities to Create Normalcy
Yes I was a very shy young girl and always up under my mom and practically attached to her hip.  She enrolled me in ballet classes, charm school, tennis and swim lessons.  I think it was a to help me break out of my shell, to help me with my clumsiness/awkwardness. As I always get compliments now as an adult as to the way that I carry myself, I would say that it worked and I am grateful to her for it.

“You were born to standout and your height easily affords you this, without even having to do anything.  How awesome is that?!” – Tanasha, Pretty TALL Style

Takes a village
My mom’s older sister, she passed away from cancer when I was a teenager but I remember growing up admiring her style, beauty and stature. I believe she was the same height as my mom and thin and dressed to perfection all of the time.  When I was older in my early twenties and moved away from my family to the east coast there was a woman, Ms. Lynette who was 5’10” that I worked with who became like a mom/older sister to me.  She was a mother of three boys, so I was like the daughter she never had. She took me under her wing at work and we went shopping together and to different activities. This is where I really started to gain a lot of confidence and really came into my own.

Interaction with Tallistas
My mom was always there for me as a young child and I have noticed that I am definitely a  lot like her when it comes to raising my two boys.  My mom is a social person though and although online I seem to be very social, in real life I am more of an introvert and keep to myself.  But when I do see young or old Tallistas out and about, I do tend to make eye contact and I always smile, and give a compliment of some kind.

Recommendations from one Tallista to another
The advice I would give Tallistas would be to believe in your self, your beauty, your presence, and your height! You were born to standout and your height easily affords you this, without even having to do anything.  How awesome is that?! For mothers of Tallistas I would just hope that they instill the positives about height, letting them know that their is nothing weird or wrong about being tall and it is definitely not a problem.

Message to Mom
I would like to tell my mom that I love her and I am so grateful for everything she has done and just for being there for me always.  Without her even knowing it but just by the way she carried herself, she helped to mold me into the woman, wife, and mom that I am today and .I am forever grateful.

Tanasha at 19 pictured with her mother Mary.

Mommy Affect: Mother’s Perspective (Mary) 

Height Awareness
I first noticed Tanasha was tall when she started to attend pre-school and daycare.  She was slightly taller than the children her age.  Although, I really took notice during her sixth grade graduation. She was standing on stage and was a good foot taller than her classmates.

Raising a Tallista
I would say it was wonderful raising Tanasha.  She’s always been a good kid and her height never really affected her in a bad way. She’s always been shy and always up under me as a kid, but I think that is more just her personality and not anything attributed to her height.  Raising her was great and I’m really proud of the woman and mother she has grown up to be.

Overcoming Tall Chalenges
The biggest challenge I faced, would probably have to be the clothes.  Finding sleeves that were long enough and jeans and pants that were long enough.  She was tall and straight up and down.  So it was a bit challenging finding clothes that fit her properly during her middle school years.  The second challenge was getting her to be comfortable and used to her height. I tried to get her involved in different activities to help her gain confidence and help her learn how to carry herself and made sure she never slouched.  She went to charm school where they were old school and she learned to walk with a book on top of her head. I believe it really helped in the way she carries herself to this day.

Tall Resources
At the time there really weren’t any resources available. I had to find what worked for her on my own. Trial and error, buying men’s jeans so they were long enough.

Advice From One Mother to Another
Let them know from the start how beautiful their height is.  That it is a special gift that many others wish they could have. Try to get your tall daughters involved in some kind of activity or sport where their height is an advantage, such as tennis, swimming, volleyball, or basketball. Even if they are not athletically inclined, I think it helps them to be around others who they can relate to and can relate to them.

Thank you so much, Tanasha and many thanks to your mom for setting aside some of her free time to share her thoughts with us.

——————————–

I hope you enjoyed reading Tanasha and Mary’s story. I would love to hear your stories as well. Leave a comment in the section below and tell us what you think about the post and/or share your ‘Mommy Affect’ story.

TALL Blessings,
J. Enovy

   Send article as PDF