PUZZLED

During our recent holiday get-together, I have the bright idea that I should put out a puzzle.  This gives people something to do while I'm prepping and cooking.  In other words, it's a means by which people can be distracted to stay out of my way in my small kitchen.

I have several puzzles, some easier and some more difficult than others.  I opt for a medium-easy puzzle, one that claims to have easy-grip pieces, whatever that means.  After a few minutes of trying to sort edge pieces from inner pieces, we realize that many of the inside puzzle parts have been cut with straight edges and are not end ones at all. 

Apparently, the "easy-grip" part isn't referring to our sanity.

We manage to get the entire edge done except for one piece, which, of course, we cannot locate and are convinced is not in the box.  I'm not quite sure how the pieces are being sorted by the group, either.  I tend to go by color first, then, once I start getting too frustrated, I also separate those colors by shape.  This time, though, some pieces are in the box; some pieces are in the box top; some pieces are scattered around the puzzle on the table.

Eventually everyone abandons ship on the puzzle.  I putter with it some more over the following twenty-four hours and manage to find the missing edge piece.  I take random bits that other people put together and start attaching the puzzle chunks inside the perimeter.  Finally, I sort the remaining pieces exactly how I prefer: color then shape within color groups.

When a friend texts to invite me swimming in the pool, I look at the clock, gauge my progress, and tell her I need about an hour.  I am determined to finish this 300-piece monstrosity.  Forty-five minutes after sending my friend a text response, the last piece has been placed.

I take a snapshot of the completed puzzle and send it to my son and his girlfriend, the two who worked on it the most before I got my hands on it.  I tell them, "Look, I found the missing edge piece."  On day #3, I am ready to break up the puzzle and put it away where it belongs.  After all, the holiday is over, and I'm done with cooking for a while.

Besides, once the puzzle is out of sight, I can firmly regain my "easy-grip" brain cells again, which is probably a good thing.