Pritchetts vs. Dreamers

Do you watch Modern Family?

I don't think there is a better show on television right now. It's probably mine and Bobby's most favorite show on air. The writing is incredibly witty, the actors are perfectly casted, and the delivery of lines couldn't be better. The show is brilliant.

I find myself laughing through most episodes, then saying lines from the show for the next few days, or even weeks. Well, the Thanksgiving episode called, "Punkin Chunkin" was no exception. Have you seen this episode? Oh my goodness, it's hilarious! But, funny enough, the line that keeps sticking with me wasn't a punch line, or a joke, it was the conclusion that was made at the end of the episode.

Allow me to explain.
Cam exaggerated a story of his and said he catapulted a pumpkin across an entire football field. Meanwhile, Phil is reunited with a former neighbor, who has made millions, apparently from asking himself, "What Would Phil Dunphy Do?" -which is a hilarious phrase in itself! Pause story- isn't the picture below so funny?!



Picking up again...Cam is mad that no one believes him about the pumpkin. Cut to Phil- He tells his wife, Claire, that she is a dream squelcher.  The stories, of course, mesh and the family breaks into two teams to try and prove that a pumpkin can't really soar the length of a football field. The two teams: The "Dreamers" vs. The "Pritchetts." The dreamers end up losing the challenge, but then the Pritchetts join in and try to help. The point is that there are dreamers in the world, and there are realists, and that we need each other to stay balanced.

Well folks, I'm a Pritchett. I'm a realist. I'm practical, logical, and rational. I think through every detail and have a pretty realistic perspective about life. I would say it's one of my strengths. But, to every strength, when taken to the extreme, there is weakness. The opposite end of being a realist is that I don't allow myself to dream, I think things to a fault at times, and I often get overwhelmed when I even begin to think of all that a decision would entail. It's good to be practical, logical, and rational, but you may never move, for fear of failure, disappointment, or the unknown.

My husband is a dreamer. He sees the big picture, he has things that he gets excited about, and has high hopes for the future. God bless him for it, too. The big picture motivates him, where as I would get overwhelmed thinking about it, and that motivation gets him through any hardship of the present. I would say this is one of his strengths. I need him to tell me that things are going to work out, and that he is excited about what the future holds. But just like being a realist has its weaknesses, so does being a dreamer. He can often think big, without taking into considering the very specific details needed to get there. He can get ahead of himself with timing, and he can be impulsive with his ideas- and freak his wife out!

His strength can be a blind spot, just like my strength of detail can be a huge blind spot.

Here is the beauty in it all though, as said by Cam, in Modern Family.
"We need the realists to stop the dreamers from soaring so high they hit the sun. But the realists need the dreamers, or else they'd never get off the ground."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Though my hubby is a dreamer and I am a realist, it's kind of the perfect combination. When he dreams, he's trying to create an amazing future for us. When I am being a realist, I'm trying to say, "here is what it takes to get there."
We need each other. We need our different perspectives to keep life balanced.

My ultimate hope for myself would be that I could allow myself to dream a little, and take a risk that terrifies me so I can at least get off the ground a little. There's a lot I feel capable of, yet fear doing, because I don't want to fail. Being married to a dreamer, helps me gain a little confidence in myself to say, "Maybe this is possible."

I love who my husband is, and the inspiration he gives me to think outside of the box a little. This "Pritchett" wants to try and be a "baby dreamer," and learn to just take the next step, without fretting over the big picture.

I'm may be a "Pritchett," but "even Pritchetts can dream."