My late ex-husband was prone to spoonerisms. He used to tell me, he liked “batik” women, meaning petite. Of course, I was not batik. Actually, far from it. I was very unhappy so gained weight. I blew up. I left, went to live with my mother and dropped the weight. Ha! I moved in with someone else, unhappy and became heavier. I left him. I lost some of the weight. Then this condition. I changed the way I ate and became the lowest weight I have been in my adult life.

Being a “fashion is my life’ kind of person, I found out that I actually could be a petite size. By the way, a petite size doesn’t mean you don’t weigh a lot, just that you are 5’4” or less. I could be petite in certain things at 5’5”.

A few years ago, I started to buy petite pants because I could no longer wear heels. The line was wrong and the legs too long.  Then I dropped weight and sizes. Things started to and continue to be baggy. But they also didn’t fit.  Things that had when I was much heavier.  Can you guess?  I am soo vain. I noticed things weren’t quite right.  I seemed a little hunched in the mirror.  I didn’t like it which in part prompted my bone scan.

At 5’5”, I have always been the shortest in my family. My mother was told when I was born that I would be able to model as I was going to be tall, at least 5’9”. I felt cheated. My cousin M, a mere 8.5 months older than me was over 6 feet and wore it well. My mother, originally 5’7” shrunk to about 5’. My recent diagnosis of osteoporosis terrifies me. Yes, more than MC(my condition because it is unique).  Yesterday, I went to a surgical consult for needed surgery on my spine. They measured me. I am only 5’3”. I have unwillingly entered the land of the “batik”.