The Big Picture

I know what you want to do when you see this picture.

First, you want to laugh.

Then maybe you want to cry?

I was looking through old pictures the other day and found this beauty.

First of all, to my sister.

I'm sorry I have to use these memories of ours to prove a point.  It must be done.  I apologize for it being at our expense.  Mom will probably tell us we looked adorable, but don't believe her.  Clearly it is all lies.  It's always been lies.  This...unless you are an older gentlemen getting ready to work in the yard...is not a good look for anyone.  And can I ask, why is the waist of my pink, jail like garment pulled up so high?  Also, might I add, why did you get to wear a necklace and mine is open like it was buttoned wrong?

Sigh.

At what point did children of the 80's have to look like middle aged women?

So many questions...

Moving on-

As I looked beyond the focal point of this picture, I started to see things I had never noticed.  I saw the hutch my Mom so proudly displayed (and still does) her most precious of items.  On the floor next to the hutch I spotted our sweet dog, Muffy.  Apparently, mom failed to see the humor in dog pictures so we don't have that many.  I loved seeing her little face laying in her dog bed.  On the wall hung a windmill picture that I always loved, but had completely forgotten about.  On the table, you can see a family of ducks that had a beautiful, white glaze.  I know this because I tried to recreate one in a ceramics class and let's just say it...didn't work out.  I saw the brown carpet and the pineapple couch that Mom was so happy to own.  The details in this picture are amazing and just looking at it brought back so many memories.

If all I had seen when I pulled the picture out of the book were the bright pink matching outfits, I would have missed the trip down memory lane.

Life can be like that sometimes.

We look at difficult situations and stare intently at the focal point.  Failing to see all the detail around it.  When you back up and look at things as a big picture, you start seeing the situation in a different light.  Sometimes, your view point even changes when you look at the whole thing.  When you investigate the little details around the matching pink outfits, you find joy you didn't even know you were looking for.

Just food for thought.  I used to think it was important to look solely at the focal point of a situation.  What is happening in the heart of the issue.  As I'm approaching 40 in a month or so, I've realized both are important.  The focal point, and all of the details that surround it.  Taking the time to investigate a situation fully will help you make the most of all the information and respond accordingly.

I honestly don't even know what Mom was thinking when she put us in these outfits.  Maybe we'd been bad and this was our punishment.  Maybe I could have used a smaller size?  Maybe our dog was laying in the background like that because she was embarrassed for us?

Thanks Mom, for an incredible visual representation for later in life.

Bless.