July 11

Every now and then, I enter puzzle-solver mode. I finished one (all cars, initially purchased with Logan in mind) in less than a day last week, so I started this one. It's proving to be significantly more challenging than the first.

It has double the number of pieces and many of said pieces are exactly the same colors, so it's taken a great deal of time and patience to get as far as I have. But I'm enjoying the challenge. I'm enjoying listening to music while I work, and I'm enjoying reflecting on how working on a puzzle can mimic life. Sometimes we try to jam pieces into places where they just don't belong. Sometimes we think we have the piece in the right place, only to find out a little later that oops, the edges don't quite line up. And sometimes we spend entire sessions fitting no pieces together at all.

But the great thing is that eventually, after much trial and error (and honestly, more than a few frustrated prayers), the pieces all do come together to make a lovely picture.