Puzzled

I have many memories of my family gathered around the dining room table, piecing together a 1,000 piece or more jigsaw puzzle. My cousins would visit during Christmas or summer break, and we'd claim sections of the puzzle and work late into the night, passing boxes and cookie sheets full of organized pieces.

B is 7 now, and methinks it's puzzle time. We started out with a 550 piece. I realized the first night that this was not going to be the magical time I'd planned. As "we" were separating flat pieces, I noticed he was much less efficient. I think his machine was to blame. B was smashing each piece between two coaster with a robotic whoosh, raising the top coaster, and then placing the piece in the correct pile...not necessarily face up. What a terribly inefficient sorting machine!

The point is to have fun, though, so I let it go.

The next night, as I was gathering similar pieces and joining a few together (side note : puzzles classified as age 12+ can be challenging), B rejoined me. I asked him to help me find gray pieces. He paved roads and delivered them to me via a Lego truck. It was beginning to look as though I'd be piecing most of this puzzle together myself.

Maybe that wasn't really a bad thing.

Luckily, we hosted my niece's birthday party that weekend. Mom and Cassie were hooked, and soon the younger generation joined in, too. That may have had something to do with the holdup on cake since I declared that the dining room table would not be cleared of puzzle until it was finished.

Someone got a picture of the finished product. Another first: my dad did not steal a piece so that he could complete the puzzle - traditionally the last hidden piece is his only contribution.

Best news? My goddaughter and best friend were visiting, and we completed three more puzzles with B! Then yesterday, my husband texted me while I was working: You boy is working on a puzzle. The 250 puzzle we'd halfway completed the night before was finished when I arrived home that night.

Tradition officially passed down.