I have never been much of a puzzle person. I'm not very good at them. I don't remember doing them much as a child. In fact, I can't remember doing them at all. I suspect that in a house full of children like ours, keeping track of puzzle pieces was a lost cause - because I don't remember others doing puzzles either. (I suspect my dad might have been good at them though.)
Once we had children, I read about how important it was for kids to do puzzles, so I dutifully went and bought puzzles. I can even remember the puzzles because there were not too many of them - I mostly remember the Richard Scarry one and the Star Wars ones. There were wooden puzzles too - one of the three little pigs I remember well - I got it free with Kleenex labels or something.
The trouble was - I didn't enjoy puzzles - and neither did Bonny or Harry. I would have to compel them to spend some time doing puzzles. They would never choose to do them on their own. I would sit and do them with them even. I think after a while I gave up, because I have no memory of doing puzzles with any of the other kids.
Years later, Sue Cornwall shared a family tradition of starting a Christmas puzzle on December first and finishing it on Christmas Eve. "I must do that!" I thought. So I went and got a Christmas puzzle - maybe 300 pieces - maybe 500. I got out the card table and spread out the pieces. The interest was zero!! I would do a few pieces each day, but pretty much no one else did. I tried bribing and compelling, but not much progress was made. Sue had said that she was sure her dad hid strategic pieces throughout the month just to keep them on their toes, but I didn't dare try that - we were getting nowhere!
Christmas Eve came and went and then Christmas night came - and the puzzle was not nearly done. At this time Bonny and Bruce were married, and Bruce was a lover of puzzles, so he was there and took over and started getting it together. Since Bruce was working on it, suddenly everyone else wanted to work on it too! At about a quarter to midnight, we - I say that loosely - finished it! To great shouts of hurrah too!
I give all this background because the irony is not lost on me that Harry our son sets up a big table in his living room each Christmas season with a large, complicated puzzle to work on. Bill and Marjorie always worked on them - maybe that's what started it - but Harry is certainly enthusiastically into it now. And he has lots of company too. The one this year is 2000 pieces - and rather complex.
It's not done yet either - and not for lack of Bruce working on it.
I'm just saying!!
The trouble was - I didn't enjoy puzzles - and neither did Bonny or Harry. I would have to compel them to spend some time doing puzzles. They would never choose to do them on their own. I would sit and do them with them even. I think after a while I gave up, because I have no memory of doing puzzles with any of the other kids.
Years later, Sue Cornwall shared a family tradition of starting a Christmas puzzle on December first and finishing it on Christmas Eve. "I must do that!" I thought. So I went and got a Christmas puzzle - maybe 300 pieces - maybe 500. I got out the card table and spread out the pieces. The interest was zero!! I would do a few pieces each day, but pretty much no one else did. I tried bribing and compelling, but not much progress was made. Sue had said that she was sure her dad hid strategic pieces throughout the month just to keep them on their toes, but I didn't dare try that - we were getting nowhere!
Christmas Eve came and went and then Christmas night came - and the puzzle was not nearly done. At this time Bonny and Bruce were married, and Bruce was a lover of puzzles, so he was there and took over and started getting it together. Since Bruce was working on it, suddenly everyone else wanted to work on it too! At about a quarter to midnight, we - I say that loosely - finished it! To great shouts of hurrah too!
I give all this background because the irony is not lost on me that Harry our son sets up a big table in his living room each Christmas season with a large, complicated puzzle to work on. Bill and Marjorie always worked on them - maybe that's what started it - but Harry is certainly enthusiastically into it now. And he has lots of company too. The one this year is 2000 pieces - and rather complex.
It's not done yet either - and not for lack of Bruce working on it.
I'm just saying!!
2 comments:
We do puzzles here and there. I think that like a lot of toys, they are not played with for a while and then rediscovered. In November both of my boys bought 500 piece puzzles from the dollar store. They worked on them for a few days, but I don't think either puzzle was finished, they were rather hard with big spaces of blue sky, etc.
i'm not a big puzzle person either. i was briefly into puzzles in college but that lasted about a month or so, when my roommates and i finished putting together the puzzles that had been left in our house by previous tenants. robbie is SO into them and i just don't get it.
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