A Puzzling Situation

I have never really been interested in puzzles, (the kind that come in boxes that is) mainly because I am keenly aware of my inability to complete them without a struggle. Anything over 50 pieces is just too much to deal with. I have learned to live with my affliction, preferring to dwell on my creative skills.

In spite of this, and because Christmas this year was looking to be a quiet affair, I dug out some old Christmas puzzles, set up a table and chair, and decided to step out of my comfort zone. I’m not sure why I thought this was a good idea, but I forged ahead and it was every bit as painful as I anticipated.

Oh I knew the basic rules:

• find all of the border pieces and work from the outside in
• sort the pieces into colors
• refer to the illustration on the box as a guide
• concentrate on one area of the puzzle at a time

But as I emptied the box of its 500 pieces, I began to question my sanity. Who in their right mind would find joy in putting all of those tiny pieces together? Surely there was a better use of my time and besides that, it looked really hard. What was I thinking?

The box and all of the pieces sat untouched for a couple of days but I finally forced myself to sit down and concentrate. It was mid afternoon when I started and I was just going to work on it for 15 minutes or so. When my husband asked what we were having for dinner, I looked up and realized that it was dark out. Oops!

Progress from then on was slow. I would sit at the table for long periods of time and not really have much to show. My mind was scattered and I was jumping all over the place. At this rate I wasn’t going to finish it on my own (well I could have if I was willing to work on it well into July) so my challenge was now open to anyone who wanted to have a go.

Help is on the Way

Fortunately, there were a few takers. My son in law completed the borders and made progress along the lower edge. That probably reduced the number of remaining pieces to only 400 or so. Whoopie!

My daughter and grandchildren would occasionally stop by the table to add their contribution and my husband began to casually stand over it and announce that he had found a few more pieces.

As the number of loose pieces began to dwindle I began to see daylight. Now it was easier to see where a piece might fit. My path became clearer, but I became more obsessed. I felt myself being pulled to the puzzle, promising to just figure out a couple of pieces and then I would get on with my day. Time flew by and before I knew it, hours had passed.

This is Getting Ridiculous

Occasionally my husband would sit down beside me and that’s when the real challenge took place. There was unspoken tension between us as we tried to outdo each other, without actually acknowledging it. I would try to match him piece for piece but it was a losing battle. More often than not, I would walk away and leave him to it.

And now we were into January. The puzzle was definitely shaping up, but something strange was happening. I’m pretty sure I was having dreams about it and I found myself in bed at night nodding off to thoughts of it. I would visualize a specific area and think of pieces and colors that might work and I would revisit areas that were especially perplexing, trying to think of possible solutions. At one point, I had to stop myself from getting out of bed right then and there to try out my theories. Unfortunately you can’t do puzzles in the dark. Had I turned on a light, my husband would surely have woken up and I couldn’t face the ridicule that would likely result. This was definitely getting out of hand!

The Finish Line is Near…

Remember the “joy” I spoke about? Well, as the end drew near, I actually experienced it. My husband was reading a few feet away as I furtively sat hunched over the puzzle trying desperately to fit the last few pieces in on my own before he realized what was happening. Call me selfish, but I was pumped and I wanted all the glory! I might not have completed the puzzle by myself but I took it to the finish line and in my mind, that was pretty spectacular!

So, was it worth it? Did I feel a sense of accomplishment? Although I can’t entirely claim credit for the result, the answer is “Yes and Yes.” But there was another benefit. Over the course of the challenge, my husband showed a keen interest in the puzzle and as much as I hate to admit it, his contribution was substantial. He has an eye for shapes, and colors. Some people have it, some people don’t. I fall into the latter category. In fact, I’m not sure what particular skills I bring to the table, but now I am wondering if there is such a thing as puzzle competitions for Seniors? We could enter in the Novice Pairs category. As long as there were no time constraints, and we didn’t fight, I think we would do quite well! 😊

We plan on publishing a new post every Monday, so stay tuned for our next one entitled “Only 3,476.83 Kilometres to Go”