It took almost a week, but we finished it. The puzzle was a 1000 piece cityscape of Manhattan that was difficult. Our visitors are puzzle people too and we all worked together on this project. It sat on the counter in the kitchen as a focal point.
Initially, the frame came together with scattered small groupings of pieces. Sometimes when I sat down, I had great success. I would place a few pieces in a row and feel a sense of accomplishment. Other times, I couldn’t find any piece that fit.
After a few days, the bottom section of the puzzle was finished and everyone felt an increased sense of urgency to finish it. More time was spent. Friends would drop by and see if they could find a piece that fit somewhere. Both cheers and groans were heard when a long-sought after piece was finally located and put in place.
The experience was at times fantastic and also frustrating. We had bonding and bickering. It was life in a nutshell. We wondered who would place the last piece? Who would have the experience of completing the puzzle?
As you can see. No one did. As in life, this puzzle will not be completed. A piece was missing. After a week of placing 999 pieces, we were not able to complete the initial task. There were a variety of responses as you might imagine.
However, I don’t believe that the final outcome needed to be marred because we didn’t achieve what we thought was our initial goal. Ultimately the goal of working on the puzzle was to bring us all together over the week. To have a shared experience that all of us from youngest to oldest could participate in.
That did happen. And along the way we got to (re)learn a valuable life lesson. Not everything turns out the way we expect. There is perfection in the imperfection.
Enjoy the picture of your life, even the incomplete parts.
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