Mother of TV star shares her 'short' story

Sometimes great things come in little packages. That's been the surprise of Peggy Roloff's life. She gave birth to two sons with dwarfism and raised them to never see their outward differences as barriers. Her son Matt Roloff has parlayed his short stature into a reality TV show, "Little People, Big World.""We're all judged by the outside," Peggy Roloff said Tuesday from her Portland home. "That's the message, look beyond the differences."Peggy Roloff, a former Grass Valley resident, will speak next Friday in Auburn at the Bell Road Baptist Church, sharing her message of faith and the "long and the short" of her family's journey. Peggy and husband Ron Roloff have been married for close to 50 years. They started their family in San Francisco, where at age 18 Peggy had her first child, Ruth, a perfectly healthy baby girl. But her second child, Matt, turned out to be quite a surprise. He had diastrophic dysplasia (a type of dwarfism affecting bone and cartilage development). Joshua, her third child, had a congenital heart problem. Her fourth child, Sam, also has diastrophic dysplasia."What a shock. We weren't prepared for any of that," said Peggy Roloff, 65. "We had all our children early, we were healthy and didn't do things the people were doing back in the '60s. So it was a major shock. But (our children) were valuable and we did what we could to do our best with those turn of events."Their children faced teasing, painful surgeries, and feelings of being different from the general population.The Roloffs relied on faith to help them overcome their challenges."Being of Christian faith, we were able to rely on God to help us figure out what in the world to say about something that could make you so bitter," Peggy Roloff said. "The main thrust is to be better not bitter. Bitterness has that 'I' in there - why me? But we can't go there as people."Peggy Roloff tells a story about how Matt came home from school one day after someone teased him, calling him short."Ron says, 'Well, you are. That guy's got good eyes, isn't that great?'" she said. "We told him that when people stare, do not take it personally. They're interested in you. You're different and they want to know more about you."Matt took this to heart and was the first to explain his condition to people in grocery stores or in the school yard. He continues spreading awareness about his condition today with "Little People, Big World," the TLC cable network program now in its third season. The show follows the exploits of Matt, his little person wife Amy, and their four children (three of average height and one, Zach, who has achondroplasia like his mother) on their 34-acre farm in Portland, Ore.After a lifetime of being gawked at, Matt Roloff is inviting people to look again."How (Matt) pitched (the show) is he wanted people to sit in their homes and stare all they want, record it on TiVo, play it backward, and realize that they live the same as these people," Peggy Roloff said.But what the Roloffs didn't expect was how their story touched not only the little people of the world but anyone who has faced challenges in life."They get thousands of pieces of mail every day," Peggy Roloff said of her son's family. "They've been a real encouragement in the way people have responded to their own needs, people with any issues, veterans, mental illness, it runs the whole gamut."Peggy and Ron have also got some screen time on "Little People, Big World." The couple moved to Portland to be closer to their grandchildren after living in Grass Valley for around 20 years. Peggy worked as a substance abuse counselor in Nevada County schools while her husband worked for Nevada County social services.Their daughter Ruth Barton is of average height (she's pushing 6 feet tall, actually) and is married to Dr. Richard Burton, director of health and human services for Placer County, another tall guy."They're the tall side of the family, as Ron says," Peggy Roloff said.Peggy Roloff has done speaking engagements since the '70s and has recently spoken in Canada, Mexico and San Francisco on her inspiring story. She's also working on a publishing deal for her book, tentatively titled, "The Long and the Short of It."Bell Road Baptist Church member Christy Sandhoff arranged for Peggy Roloff to come to Auburn after mutual friends mentioned Roloff is an public speaker.Sandhoff said Peggy Roloff's story is about the challenges we all face."Everyone has challenges, if it's not your children, it's your spouse, or your job or your own health or relationships or work," she said. "It's never what the problem is, it's the approach to how you handle it. That's what she has that can benefit anyone."Sandhoff said Peggy Roloff would have never guessed when her family was experiencing its hardest times, that she would one day have a chance to share her life's philosophy and her small blessings with speakers around the country and through her son's television show."If you told her when she was having her children, 'Peggy, your son is going to be a star on a national TV show, everyone's going to know your name and you'll get to travel all around speaking,' she would have guffawed," Sandhoff said. "From a Christian perspective, the bigger challenges you have in life, the better opportunity you have to witness God and glorify him."The Journal's Michelle Miller can be reached at michellem@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at auburnjournal.com.Peggy RoloffWhat: Speech by mother of television's Matt Roloff of TLC's "Little People, Big World" When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, Where: Bell Road Baptist Church, 707 Bell Road in AuburnCost: Free, but reservations are required Info: (530) 885-5212 for reservations or e-mail tickets@bellroad.org