Puzzling Things I'm Thankful For
As I wrap up my second year of Ambassadorialness, I’m realizing that I have a lot to be thankful for both in my real life and my puzzling life (as if they can be separated!). And much like a Tofurky and lentil Thanksgiving feast, I’d like to share these things with you. So, let’s tuck in.
First off, I’m thankful that my food does not have faces.
If my food had faces, I would need to come up with a backstory for it. And then I’d have to consider whether I should be eating it at all. Should I be feeding it? And then, in my confusion, I would have to go home and rethink my life choices. This is especially true if my food looked like googly-eyed cats and had punny names.
I’m thankful that my kids are getting old enough that I no longer have to hug them while they are sleeping in order to hug them at all.
They have mostly moved through the contemptuous eyeroll phase and even past the scathing sarcasm phase to, on occasion, willingly demonstrating sporadic, if mild, affection. In related news, I’m proud to report that I have moved on from the overstepping physical boundaries phase.
I’m ever so thankful that this scene did not take place at my house, though it is vaguely reminiscent of the Great Smoothie Disaster of 2010 (yes, they need to be dated to keep them straight) in the color and pooling of large amounts of liquid.
Of course I’m spared this particular mess only because I don’t own and never have owned a dog, and given my lifestyle I must confess that, if I had a dog at my house, this would be an every-other-day occurrence.
On an unrelated note, I’m thankful that we have, after years of trial and error, discovered how to tie dye animals.
The Dye Owl by Indigenous Collections
I’m thankful for exterior walls.
Family the Magic of Stories by Mudpuppy
They prevent me from falling out of the house at night, while also keeping other people’s dragons off of my freshly washed sheets, and preventing Wes Anderson from studying me. Exterior walls allow me to choose which troops I quarter in my attic.
No really, I’m very thankful for them.
Medieval Castle by MasterPieces
Exterior walls help me to know which voice to use and when I should be wearing socks and shoes as opposed to just socks. They also keep my dungeon private, mercifully block my view of my myriad banners, and keep the hounds out of the dining room.
I’m thankful that no one got Lyme disease in the making of this puzzle.
I’m thankful for the advent of color.
Black and white was fine for Buster Keaton movies, the city of New York circa 1945, and baseball players who were born in the 1800s. But I, for one, like looking at zebras and newspapers and pandas and crossword puzzles in all of their resplendent glory. (Why is it so hard to think of colorful things on the spot?)
I’m thankful for the teacher who graded my child’s presentation by telling him he used “just the right amount of memes.”
I found that confusing, since I have always thought that any amount of memes is too many for a school project and, similarly, there is no possible minimum correct amount of memes in this same context. But I could tell by my child’s proud proclamation of this feedback that his teacher managed to instill a confidence around meme usage that will carry through to his future endeavors.
I’m thankful that my cat doesn’t need glasses. Yet.
Given the vim and vigor with which he paws my glasses off my nose and chews them, I don’t think he could handle having his own glasses. At. All. Even to help him see whatever it is he is staring at when he sits for long stretches with his nose an inch from the wall. I’m also thankful that he doesn’t play chess, in part because his favorite hobby is tipping small things over, but mostly because he might beat me.
I guess that just about wraps it up. But wait! There’s also the puzzling. Puzzling with my family. Puzzling on new teams (Phil, Mike, Lauren). Puzzling with old teams (Wicker Kittens, Sisters Squared). Speed puzzling with my ever-indulgent, ever-sweet child. Placing at the National Jigsaw Puzzle Contest. Rooting for my friends at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Contest. Discovering new brands. Drawing new puzzle art. Reworking my neighborhood puzzle library, only to have its contents get wet a month after covering it in three coats of marine varnish (but nevertheless persisting to come up with a new plan to keep the elements at bay). Chasing the cat to successfully pry a spittle-covered piece from his mouth before it’s lost somewhere in the house (or worse) forever. Yeah, it’s been a good year alrighty. Let’s keep ‘em coming.
Robin D.
This cracked me up! Thanks for making me smile!
Wow that's a lot of things I had not thought of to be grateful for! Also I need that tie-dye bird puzzle!
