Monday, February 20, 2012

Masked Mom's Media Monday: The Big Picture

The first time I really remember hearing the phrase "You can't see the forest for the trees." was in tenth grade geometry class with Mr. Edgecomb. The phrase was a favorite of his and I probably heard it daily during the year I had his class.

Looking back, it doesn't seem like a phrase that would really apply in geometry, since, at least as I remember it, geometry is all about the icky-picky details and you overlook them at your peril. It would've made a lot more sense for him to tell us constantly that we couldn't see the trees for the forest, but he did all kinds of things that didn't make sense, including wearing sports coats with leather elbow patches. That stereotypical uniform of academia was sorely out of place in the overheated, paint-peeling, wholly intellectually unstimulating classroom where we begrudgingly listened to him drone on and on about tangents, lines, rays and forests and trees.

My grade in geometry notwithstanding, I've always been a details kind of girl myself. And why stop at trees when there are leaves, acorns, bits of bark, and those spinny little helicopter things to fixate on? In short, I spend an inordinate (and probably unhealthy) amount of time obsessing over the little things and sometimes worry that I am neglecting the big picture.

Last night, during her weekly visit to my house, two-and-half-(and counting)-year old Seventh Niece and I had some rare one-on-one time. At one point, I was holding a tablet in my lap while she drew me a picture.

As she finished up, she proclaimed, "Here's your Big Picture!"

Sometimes, the Big Picture is all about the little things.

Masked Mom's One-Word Review: Priceless.

10 comments:

  1. Seventh niece's big picture is awesome, frameable, even. The only teacher I remember in high school was my typing teacher Mr. Richie. He was tall and wore his pants very high on the waist and reminded me of humpty dumpty.

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  2. Wonderful! Love it!

    And why are Geometry teachers all alike in the fact that...they provide odious memories!?

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  3. I love the colours! Frame this one, along with her quote...

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  4. The "Big Picture" is awesome :)

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  5. Nice connection - the big picture is all about the little things. I love kids - they understand far more than most adults. What happens to us along the way?

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  6. I totally agree with JT- children are way wiser than we give them credit for!

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  7. My initial reaction is to think I must be weird; I can remember all of my high school teachers, all of my elementary teachers, down to Miss Bunn, my kindergarten teacher, who used Zest soap. About thirty years down the line, when I stumbled across Zest, I was hooked for life, due to dear Miss Bunn. (no plugs intended)

    As for the children? Let the children lead, for they know instinctively, what the big picture looks like. Seventh Niece just had to point that out again.

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  8. Again, you just hook me. I love this. I love that you took the time to notice what your niece was saying and I love that you can write about it so aptly.

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  9. Out of the mouths of babes...

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  10. Sometimes the Big Picture has to be painted by others in order for us to see it. Even better when it's painted by a child who only sees the big picture.

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