Often, I would try to engage them in
putting together a puzzle, this would get them to sit down and get them so
focused on finishing a task and during the whole time, I would talk to them in
hushed tones, hoping that they would mimic me.
This seemed to work for my younger son more than the older (but hey, as
long as I took one of the “noisemakers” out of the equation, the other was
quieter!).
They were the ones who picked the
puzzles, usually of their favorite Disney movie, and when they were quite young
we started off with 20 piece puzzles, then as they got older and able to sit
longer we got up to a 500 piece
puzzle. Like most everyone else, we
started with the edges, setting up the boundaries. Then we separated all the “like” pieces and
began to construct the inner parts of the puzzle either separately or within
the edges. Sometimes, pieces that didn’t
seem to go together actually fit together very nicely and were the pieces that
joined one part of the picture to the other.
The hardest pieces to fit together were the ones that were
usually the “background” pieces; the sky or wall, you know, the multiple pieces
that were all the same color or pattern.
It was always nice to refer to the picture on the cover whenever we
needed a little extra help. However, the
most frustrating thing would be when all the pieces were used only to discover
that one or two pieces of the puzzle were missing! It wasn’t like you couldn’t tell what the picture
was without those pieces, you could always use your imagination to fill in the
blanks of the missing pieces, but the integrity of the puzzle and the
satisfaction of completion always seemed diminished without them.
There are several metaphors of the
puzzle we can use for life. Today, I
wanted to focus on the idea that each of us is a piece of a puzzle - the puzzle
that can be seen as life. We are each
unique in shape, size and function. Some
of us are better used for setting boundaries and holding the picture
together. Some of us may not look like
we fit well with others but we are crucial
for other parts of the picture of life to fit together. A lot of us may look very similar to a lot of
others, and so it may be easy to say to ourselves, “Well, my contribution isn’t
much, no one will miss my piece not being there”, but when all the rest of the
pieces are used and one is missing, the picture is just not the same, something
has been diminished without that piece – it is indeed missed. Of course, it’s
always good to have the whole picture or plan to refer to when the vision gets
lost. That picture can be a mission
statement, a life message, a family motto, an “I am” statement, or a spiritual
destiny.
Know that you are a piece of the
puzzle that is appreciated, respected and needed. You are unique, and cannot be
replicated. You are valuable and this
life would just not be the same or complete without you. Have a great day!
-Tessa L. Charles
-Tessa L. Charles
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