"When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became an adult I put away childish things."
Now that I am on the edge of my second childhood, I'm pulling those childish things back out. I bought a 550pc jigsaw puzzle at the Friends of the Library book sale a week ago. It is described as an Artists Collection puzzle. The picture is "The Village A" by John Zaccheo. By googling him I found he was born in 1942 and painted mostly Mediterranean ports and seascapes.
I have always enjoyed putting a puzzle together. It was something we did as a family before television. A card table was set up in the living room, the puzzle pieces were dumped out and we commenced puzzling. First all the pieces were turned right side up. Second the edge pieces were found so the border could be put together. Third, pieces were grouped by color. Once the outside was in place we could begin working our way in. If there was a building or another feature it might be put together separately and then fitted in later.
Two things I remember doing as a kid were palming a piece when the puzzle was almost put together so I could be the one to put in the last piece and trying to fold the puzzle up as much as possible to put it back in the box so next time we wanted to put it together it was already partially completed. (Yes, I suppose that did defeat the purpose.)
It takes time and patience to put together a puzzle. There have been a few other times in the past 10 years or so when I have had the desire to do a puzzle but once started never finished. I believe I will complete this one. The sky is already done and I'm working on the buildings. There is just something so satisfying about finding the piece that fits. Sometimes I find several pieces in a very short period of time and other times I look and look and can't fit any pieces. That is when I walk away from the table for awhile; coming back later with 'fresh eyes'.
I could make some comparisons about how life is like a puzzle but I think I will let you make up your own and go work on "The Village A".
Jigsaw puzzles are such a soothing pastime--all that chaos neatly clicking into a pretty, orderly picture. I like the mental space I get into when I work on them--my hands and eyes are occupied, and my mind is free to roam afar. I often find I make odd connections or recall nearly-forgotten memories. I never know just where I'll wander, but it's usually pretty interesting.
ReplyDelete