Holiday puzzle

On most holidays I crack out a puzzle. I love puzzles, and according to my mother I have loved them since I have been born. Maybe it is the sense of creating order from chaos, or an sense of task completion that I enjoy. During a Pine holiday there is also competitive puzzle completion, where no-one dares to leave the puzzle table before it is finished, so we sit there parched, busting and eyes straining until the last piece is slotted in. Some children even hide the last piece so they can get the satisfaction of slotting it in.



So here are some life lessons I impart using sweeping generalizations about puzzles.

- those who do the edge first enjoy structure and orderliness/are control freaks
- those who start from the middle out are picture based idea focused/annoying
- if it doesn't fit smoothly and you have to use two fingers to smoosh it in, IT DOESN'T FIT
- sometimes you can't see the whole picture. A bit like life. Until you finish the puzzle, then you can see the whole picture. Then the analogy collapses.
- you start with the bright colors and end up with the blacks that all look the same. Not sure how that is significant, but it sounds deep. Think about it.


A completed puzzle is a joy. Particularly if you have finished it in the after lunch lull with a cup of tea and jazz music and a lack of small children around. Although the children all took part in putting this puzzle together, especially my highly spatially aware 3 year old nephew.

Love a holiday puzzle. Because at no other time of the year can you while away hours joining together cardboard for no reason.