day thirty-one: missing

On the card table in the back room of the house there is the outline of a 500-piece puzzle that is slowly maturing into a scene of Tuscany. Red clay tiled roofs and white columned buildings. After sifting through the pieces three times today with boy #3 we realized there is a piece missing from the bottom right corner.

What's the point of even finishing it? he asked in his frustration.

And I spent another twenty minutes convincing him, while I started to group like pieces together, that sometimes it is while you occupy yourself with other things that the initial problem solves itself.

And that there is also a possibility that this is a 499-piecer.

9 comments

charrette | September 19, 2009 at 1:16 AM

I get obsessive about puzzles. How fun that you were doing that together tonight!

April | September 19, 2009 at 8:09 AM

and some things aren't perfect...and that's ok.

Unknown | September 19, 2009 at 9:25 AM

whenever i do puzzles i always hid a piece, just so i could be the person to put the last piece on

Marianne | September 19, 2009 at 10:33 AM

I love your musings. I get pretty frustrated when there is a piece missing, too, but I love your thought that it's often while we work around that missing that we begin to see the big picture.

Heather | September 19, 2009 at 1:05 PM

Woah, that was deep, and just today I was trying to decide if scrapbooking is really worth my time or if it is just a guilty pleasure. What you said really makes sense, because when I am scrapbooking I get to think about other things that get resolved in my head, and then I was thinking about President Uchdorft talk about creating.

Kimberly Vanderhorst | September 19, 2009 at 4:57 PM

Multiple possible lessons to be learned from such a scenario...

Luann | September 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM

Two things come to mind:

1) It's the journey, not the destination.

2) Mindy is one sneaky and creative little thing. I like that. :)

Jo | September 20, 2009 at 8:22 PM

I think I might have gotten stuck on the same question--if I can't do it perfectly why even try? But there are so many reasons to try and it's not about perfection (or so I try to convince myself!)

Dedee | September 24, 2009 at 6:23 PM

I love puzzles but currently do not have a place I can put them up and work on them when ever I want.

Now I want to get one down...