The past week or so has been crazy so I proclaimed Sunday to be my “do nothing, go nowhere” day and it was just short of heavenly. It was a cold, crappy day which made it all that much easier.

Since we’re in the throes of NHL playoffs, the Rooster pretty much takes over the living room and if the Flyers are playing, no one wants to be near him. So, on Friday night I pulled out a brand new, shiny puzzle to put together.

I developed a passion for puzzles when the bestie and I moved to Vail and we would sit for hours putting them together.. no trip to the mall (this was pre-Amazon..) was complete without searching for a bigger, better one to do. Hallmark used to make GREAT puzzles and one of our favorites at that time was a mammoth, 2,000 piece Wizard of Oz one.

Puzzles are a commitment.. you can’t start one and not finish it in a timely manner unless you have a section of our house where you can leave it.. only then can you leisurely put one together. Walking by from time to time to pop a piece in. They’re also a test of your personality if you have any resemblance of OCD. There are a few things that I am OCD about and puzzles are one of them. The edges must be done first and only once that is done, can you begin the inside. All pieces must be turned over to the correct side and I prefer that colors be grouped together. (I know, I know) Kids aren’t fond of having that many “rules” just to put together a puzzle so it can quickly turn into a battle of wills which, in my case, results in not having the same child putting together a puzzle with me the entire time.

The plus side to that is having some quiet, unplugged, one-on-one time with each of them.

Maybe having OCD puzzle rules isn’t so bad after all…

Kristen

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Last updated by Kristen Daukas at 13 October, 2012.