I love puzzles. Word puzzles, crossword puzzles, logic puzzles, brain teasers, sudokus, even riddles. And of course jigsaw puzzles. That’s why, when we finished our traditional Christmas puzzle and my husband said, “Let’s do another one,” I was all in!
The Beginning
So we did another puzzle, and when it was finished, guess what! We did another one! And another. And yet another. And that’s how 2017 became the year of the puzzles! Inspirational, right? Of course we didn’t spend 24/7 putting puzzles together—we do have a life, after all. But every time we finished one we started another. There was always one out ready for us to spend a few minutes (or hours) working on whenever we wanted. It was fun doing it together, but sometimes one or the other of us would just spend some “me” time with the current puzzle, as well. Finding the right pieces was a challenge, and it could also be a way just to zone out or practice mindfulness as we focused on something other than some very stressful things that were happening in our lives at the time. And finishing each one gave us such a sense of accomplishment! Extended family members and friends often joined us at the puzzle table, having fun while unwinding. It’s a great social activity, as you can carry on conversation while searching for just the right place for each piece.
So many puzzles, so little time
We did lots of scenic puzzles, a 3-D puzzle, Christmas scenes, several Disney-related puzzles, Victorian houses, trains, and map puzzles of the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia (where one of our daughters was living at the time). Also Brisbane, the Sidney Opera House and a kangaroo, because, again, Australia! She also had lived in Ukraine and visited St. Basil’s Cathedral in nearby Russia, so of course we had to do that stunningly colorful and intricate cathedral.
Richard is a huge baseball fan, so we put together the Angel stadium for his favorite team. We also did a map puzzle of Los Angeles, which meant I had to—I mean got to 😏—listen to my husband reliving his childhood again through all the places he lived and interacted with as he grew up there. That one took awhile, due to the extensive nostalgic narration of memories and a detailed personal history tied to the places on the map. That I had heard before. And seen in person on nearly every trip we made to Southern California. But I digress.
So many!
I know I can get it in! 
That year we put together about 50 puzzles. We lost a piece on a couple—or maybe a few—puzzles, which can be frustrating but reminded us that things don’t always have to be perfect. It also brought back memories of my childhood, when we usually accused my dad of hiding the last piece so he could put it in. I think he did that exactly once, but that’s how reputations are earned! 😂 Richard and I have different styles of finding pieces. I am the one who is always looking at the picture on the box lid, and Richard occasionally does, too. But mainly he just tries a piece he thinks will go. Some people are purists and think using the picture is cheating. I say it’s working smarter, not harder. 😇
I camouflaged the missing piece! 
The one that got away
Only one jigsaw puzzle rebelled against the good manners expected of self-respecting puzzles. It was actually one of Richard’s favorite Norman Rockwell paintings of baseball umpires discussing what to do about the rain that had begun falling. The painting had been on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post (as many of Rockwell’s paintings were), and that was what was replicated in the puzzle. Each ump had the same shade of black on, and the puzzle pieces on this one were somewhat interchangeable, meaning you could put the wrong piece in and it would fit perfectly. But then as you continued, you would find that one piece had thrown off the whole section, and it had to be identified and multiple pieces reworked.
Black on black
Normally you could figure it out from the colors, but all those black suits were a puzzling nightmare. Richard was done before the puzzle was. And even though I worked on it several more days, eventually I was done, too. I will confess that puzzle is the only one I ever gave up on. The last 20 solid black, nearly identical pieces just would not work, no matter how many times I rearranged them! There are several lessons from that one. One is that things are not always what they seem. Sometimes you can fit the wrong piece in, but that doesn’t make it right. And occasionally a challenge becomes a lost cause. I know I’m not supposed to say that, and I am usually the person that says “we can do it.” But that puzzle defeated me. And I’m okay with that. If I wasn’t, those umpires would still be out on our table mocking me. In the rain.
Pay no attention to the missing piece! 
This is the one! I give up!
Brain training
They say doing different kinds of puzzles helps keep the mind nimble as you age. It exercises both sides of your brain—the left analytical side and the right creative side. According to USA Today, studies have shown that working on various puzzles not only reinforces the connections between our brain cells but can even form new ones. And there are ongoing studies on the possibility that doing puzzles may slow the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s on the brain. I’m all about that!
Working on jigsaw puzzles is relaxing and can also improve short-term memory as we focus on the shape, size, and color of the pieces and visualize where they will go. Although my brain may have gotten a setback with that Rockwell umpire puzzle! And “relaxed” is not the word I would use to describe what I felt while trying to bully the pieces into the right places. I’m still a little traumatized. And it’s been 3 years.🥴
Let’s trade!
Puzzles have picked up popularity during the pandemic as positive distractions and mental stimulation while we are spending more time at home. Membership has grown in the Jigsaw Puzzle Exchange, a website where members can swap puzzles. I think that’s a great idea, solving the problem of what to do with all those completed puzzles. I mean, you can only mod-podge and frame so many before your walls start to look tacky. 😉
Sweet memories
We still do jigsaws—my sweet hubby had a couple made of favorite family photos and they are wonderful. But 2017 was the only year we had a puzzle out virtually all the time. And in general it was fun! And stimulating! And relaxing, all at the same time!
Moving on…
But the puzzling streak, as all good things do, has come to an end. And we’ve moved on to other creative pursuits. Richard bought a Rubik’s cube in a moment of nostalgic weakness, we put together a Lego scene of women in space (you can see them in this post), and he’s just recently gotten into drawing.
I have my Etsy shop with the coloring pages I draw, this blog, and I’m preparing an online course on stress management. And with that I’ve come full circle in this post, because puzzling is a great way to reduce stress! Now that’s inspirational!
Your Turn
My favorite puzzling pic—love the purples!
I have a friend who shares pictures on Facebook of the jigsaw puzzles he, his wife, and her mother complete, and I think they’ve done even more than we have. I love seeing them, and I’d love seeing pictures of puzzles you put together, too! If you want, you can even coordinate your clothes to match the puzzle, like I did (inadvertently) here. 😉Just drop them in the comments below! And keep on puzzling!
