I have different responses for different situations.  What I center on nowadays is the speaker's lack of tact, insecurity, emotional need, etc.  My being short is an unavoidable, obvious fact.  It is simply the way God designed my genes-- there is nothing I can do about it-- it's a situation that probably no one would ever choose intentionally.  For them to bring it up at all shows their lack of tact and almost always the speaker is insecure about him/herself in some way and trying to deflect that by making a big hairy deal about one of us being short.  So, I turn the tables on them.  I can't change being short - they need to change how they interact with people.  They probably get a kick out of chiding people who are fat, too.  

I remember this feeling back 30 years ago.  Here was my line of reasoning: If I have children and they are all girls, my short genes aren't an issue.  If I have a son, it's genetically possible he'll be normal size and it's not an issue.  If I have a son who's as short as I am, and we raise him with everything he needs to handle it well, it's not an issue.  The only perfect storm was me: short and hating it because I came from such a bad family that I ended up really screwed up about this.  So my wife and I had kids:

We have a daughter who is petite and cute-- no problem.  My older son by God's grace is 5'11" - no problem. My other son is a 5'8" tough Marine - no problem.  They all grew up with me as a forceful, witty leader, so they never ever imagined that being short cancelled someone's worth, and since I am so sensitive to the issue, they also learned very well to be sensitive, kind, caring people.

Have kids.

   
• Wearing a costume at a party, and having someone assume you’re a child or a woman, because, after all, a real man would be taller.
   
• The humiliating experience of being caught while standing on a stool or step ladder and getting ridiculed.
   
• Standing at a cocktail party and talking with full-size people: humiliating, neck-wrenching, uncomfortable, awkward to say the least.
   
• Showing photos of yourself with others and having someone jab a finger at it and blurt out, “Ohmigod, you’re so much shorter than everyone else.”
   
• Posing for a family/friend group shot, and having the guy who's 5'8" say, "Wow, this is great - I feel so tall around you."
   
• The family reunion when clodhopper Cousin Billy feels compelled to point out that "Even my 13-yr old son is taller than you are!"
   
• Arriving at a friend's house at night on a kinda dark porch to pick up my son from a party and the 6' couple comes to the door, and says' "Oh, I thought you were one of the kids!"
   
• Knowing Gina would never even consider me, and seeing her chase after the big 6' tall guy who was a total jerk.

Shall I continue? A whole lifetime of it.  

My mother is long gone, and I'm in my late fifties, so this is not a current issue.  But, I would mention that my mother was not helpful to me in any way whatsoever in this issue.  She was child-like in her understanding of the world -- about the mentality of a 14 yr old school girl till the day she died.  She never had an adult, thoughtful, helpful, supportive thing to say.  The best was a cliche response like "Good things come in small packages." when I was feeling crushed by all the usual high school miseries of being one of the 5 smallest guys in the class.  I rarely if ever brought up the topic because I knew she was incapable of helping me.  I've had to find all my answers elsewhere - 99% of the answers and help and support I've found have come from books, website articles, ShortSupport.com and here.  I've only had one short male friend in the last 43 years who I could really talk to.  

So, it's me and God.