The Elusive Painting

[If you’ve been reading the last couple of my blog posts, you will have read about the flawed trip my family made to NYC. Here is the third lesson I learned on that fateful visit to the Big Apple.]

Sometimes, you think you know something but really you don't have all the information.

My kids were excited about seeing the famous Van Gogh painting The Starry Night. It’s one of the most famous and recognizable works of art in the world. And we were going to get to see it!

After spending nearly all day at the MoMA looking at art, we still hadn’t seen The Starry Night. It was not where I would have expected to see it with the other impressionists when I looked at the interactive museum map. I assumed it was on loan somewhere because it wasn’t listed in that gallery. I thought I knew, so we left without seeing it.

We walked a couple of blocks to the Lego store because my kids love Lego and we needed a win. While we were there, I looked online to see where Starry Night was in the world. Low and behold, it was at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. It was in one of the few tiny galleries that wasn’t connected to the others like a maze and we missed it. [Expletive deleted]!!!

I had to admit my mistake, tell my family that I screwed up and misinformed everyone. I could have easily kept quiet about realizing we'd missed the painting. After all, we were already at the Lego store, tensions were high, and who wants to admit they messed up? By owning my mistake in front of my children and swallowing my pride, I was showing them something more valuable than any painting – that it's okay to be wrong and that honesty and accountability matter more than saving face.

If looks could kill after my confession, I wouldn't be typing this right now. Luckily, we were still only a few blocks away and I now knew precisely which gallery to head to. 

When I stood and looked at this painting that we made a special effort to see, I felt moved. Van Gogh never saw the success of his work. He will never know what a huge impact his art made on the world. People were elbowing their way to stand and stare at his priceless work of art. I was getting choked up.

It might have been the culmination of the whole day being a bit of a bust. I was annoyed with myself for thinking I knew and not doing a full search for the painting online until after we left. But mostly, I was relieved that we realized it before we left the city. I was happy that we had this moment to enjoy this magnificent piece of art together.

Standing there, I couldn't help but reflect on how close we came to missing this masterpiece simply because I was too confident in what I thought I knew. How often does this happen in our daily lives? We think we have it all figured out, only to discover we've been operating on incomplete information.

But here's what I took away from our Starry Night adventure: It's not about avoiding mistakes - they're inevitable. It's about what you do next. I could have let embarrassment win and avoided admitting my error. Instead, I owned it, pivoted our plans, and created a memory that ended up being more meaningful than if we'd found it on the first try.

Isn't that the perfect metaphor for life as a busy professional and parent? Plans go sideways. Information gets missed. But our ability to course-correct, to admit when we're wrong, and to keep pursuing what matters... that's where the magic happens.

What Starry Night are you perhaps missing in your own life because you're too certain you know where to find it?