This Is Us
Take Another Piece of My Heart
How jigsaw puzzles presented the big picture.
I did not like doing jigsaw puzzles. My husband did. Early in our marriage we discovered our irreconcilable differences and avoided the subject.
But, as is the case of many marriages, the arrival of children changed things.
Without discussion or warning, my husband introduced our young daughters to puzzles. They share just enough of their father’s Welsh DNA to be intrigued. But not enough to actually finish a puzzle. This was evident the first time he dumped a picture puzzle onto the dining table, a puzzle torn asunder for the sole purpose of putting all 1,500 pieces back together again.
For entertainment purposes.
As his British traditions went I found puzzling less, well, puzzling than grown adults donning silly tissue paper hats to demonstrate their ability to have spontaneous good fun. Once a year, like clockwork.
I am not averse to games. Word puzzles — crosswords, Spelling Bee, Wordle — I do them all. I could, and probably did, brag online once or twice. I mean, have you ever done The Daily Mini in under 45 seconds? That is Gram worthy.
Yet, it was while clicking interlocking pieces of cardboard together with my husband that I fell madly in love…
