A Puzzling Situation

Friends, I think I’ve made a huge mistake. A SIX THOUSAND PIECE mistake, to be exact.

You see, my oldest, normally off at college, has been living with us since the pandemic started. And we’ve done a bunch of puzzles together, just like when she was a little girl. Sitting side by side, day after day, snapping pieces into place, talking, and listening to music, I’ve felt so grateful to be spending this unexpected time with her.

On a whim, I decided to find us a bigger puzzle, a real challenge, and I stumbled across THIS beast. I figured if we could do a 1000 piece puzzle in a day or two, a 6000 piece puzzle would just take six times longer. But, like most mathematical attempts in my life, I was wrong. Very, very, wrong. 

Let me count the things I foolishly failed to consider…

1. The sheer SIZE of it. The border fits on our dining table with barely an inch to spare. Also, you cannot physically spread 6000 pieces out on a table. This is a problem. It took DAYS just to find the ends. I practically dance a little jig each time I fit two pieces together. I am patient, but I am NOT 6000 pieces patient.

2. The fact that we have only ONE table in our house. Since this thing arrived, the five of us have been eating meals standing around our kitchen island. Fortunately, my husband, good-natured guy that he is, doesn’t seem to care WHERE he eats, as long as there is food.

3. My daughter, the only person in this house doing the puzzle with me, is going back to college in 2 weeks. Or so she thinks. Cause I will hold that child hostage before I let her abandon me with this monstrosity.

4. Speaking of finishing, let’s say we actually complete it. Then what? It’s too big to move anywhere. Do I serve the Thanksgiving turkey on top of it? Does it just live on the table forever, a permanent reminder of our victory? Do we…GASP…destroy it???

I don’t know how this ends folks. But if you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s probably because I got sucked into some kind of pandemic puzzle abyss…it’s been nice knowing y’all.