Have you seen this show on TLC called little people, big world? I find it fascinating.

I’m not sure why. Ma always had some kind of weird issue with midgets. She found them creepy for some reason. She never could articulate it well for me, except to say that she got tripped up at the idea of them making love to someone average sized.

I never gave that any thought; I thought little people were are fascinating. So, I watch the TLC show which follows a family with little people in it with great interest. The reality show follows a family with a small husband and wife, and their four children. One of their children is little, like they are, and the rest are average sized. The oldest children are 15 year old twin boys, Jeremy and Zach. Jeremy is average size, while Zach is little. He has a deep voice, deeper than his larger brother, in fact, but looks so much younger because of his size.

What I find most interesting about this dynamic is the way the parents interact with the twins. They usually show Amy, the mother, warning Jeremy to be a gentleman with his girlfriend, and to slow down, etc. Meanwhile, Matt, the father is always taking Zach to little people conferences to meet girls. He is mentoring his son, who would obviously rather stay a boy longer, to meet girls and spend time with them with the mind to picking a wife. Matt knows from experience how hard it is to find a life partner, and he wants Zach to start young.

It just seems ironic that Zach is just not ready for this kind of interaction, whereas Jeremy is, and no one is encouraging him to do so. Even on the episode where the boys went for their learner’s permit, Jeremy passed the written test, and Zach failed.

I wonder if maybe Matt would wait a year, would Zach be ready to look for a future bride? Would that really be too late?

Amy’s issues generally involve trying to discipline her average size children, all of whom, even the 9 year old, are taller than she. She is one tough mother, and very capable, and yet these struggles seem to wear her down. Matt doesn’t have the same problems with authority in the home. From the outside looking in, Amy could probably get some relief if she would submit to her husband.

Matt has some physical issues that Amy doesn’t have. I haven’t seen the show enough to understand what’s wrong with him exactly, but he can’t walk without the help of crutches, and increasingly, he needs a powered scooter to get around. Amy is very physically active, even to the point of coaching some of her children in soccer. She has a hard time accepting her husband’s choices in supporting the family. He is an entrepenuer, and is attempting to turn their large farm into a money-making enterprise. She took two jobs at one point to make ends meet, but I think the money she makes is negligible, and probably not necessary at this point.

I can understand her anxiety, but I think she’d have an easier time with her children if she would trust her husband to provide for the family. This is clearly not a dwarf issue. What married woman doesn’t struggle with submission issues?