Wow, Day 7 already, how’d that sneak up on us? And (for those of you paying attention) what happened to Day 6, you ask????
Let’s just say, I mean well. But this whole consistency thing, it’s hard, man.
Good thing we’re calling this an experiment, and a Misfit one at that. Always have a good fallback just case your plans go amuck; that’s my free advice for you today. You’re welcome
On the other hand… my present failure and shortcoming actually provides the perfect segue to talk about this here puzzle, pictured above ⬆️. It’s not just any puzzle, mind you, no, no, no. It’s the puzzle from hell. Yes, hell I say. Don’t let that the smiley golden retriever fool you.
And like all valuable lessons, it involved a fair amount of social-emotional trauma.
The idea was to incorporate it into our family vacation, the way classy, literary people play Scrabble while listening to Terry Gross fake laugh her way through a Fresh Air interview on NPR, for merriment. That was our first mistake. To begin with, it’s custom-made from a beloved pet picture, so of course the prevailing thought was “We know this dog, how hard could it be?” Just in case you didn’t already know, the mere asking of that question should always be considered foretelling of great adversity ahead. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the second naive thought was, “This is going to be fun!” What fools we were. Relationships were tested. Tears were shed. The sound of ultimate suffering surely betrayed our remote location.
But alas, as per the picture, we actually finished it, albeit, through weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yes, indeed. We even managed to somehow stay intact as a family unit. And in the process, as if we didn’t already know who is who in the clan, psychological profiles were solidified that day. And as if I didn’t already know it, it was confirmed to me once again that tenacity is a quality of which I am scarce and of which my husband and daughter possesses oodles. Literal oodles.
We’ll start with him. The man doesn’t give up. Ever. Long after I deemed it impossible, determining that pieces MUST be missing and/or there was some vast Illuminati Conspiracy working against us in unseen realms… he refused to quit. He just kept chipping away at it, piece after impossible piece. Yep. It’s who he is. It’s why he’s an engineer extraordinaire.Oh, and then there’s Daughter. Sure, she complained a little, so at least I had the pleasure & solidarity of her commiserations… to a point. Until it became clear, she doesn’t give up either. Just like her father, all that character and sticktoitiveness. Great, now it’s two against one.
And so here I am, confronted head-on with my love of ease. My commitment to comfort. My lack of tenacity.
Ouch. I think I just triggered myself with this unpleasant epiphany. I think I need an Emotional Support Animal. Stat.
Of course, it’s just a puzzle… right? It has nothing to do with any of our approaches to the real obstacles of life… Right?
But of course, I think we all know the answer to the Great Jigsaw Analogy of Life:
As goes our puzzling, so goes our persistence (or lack thereof).
As goes our puzzling, so goes our persistence
(or lack thereof).
And I’m asking God what to do about it. Because I’m thinking I really should do something about it. I think tenacity would be a good thing to have.
What do you think? Are you tenacious? If so, feel free to share your tips and tricks. And if not, feel free, if you dare, to just shout that out in the comments. Maybe we can pray for each other!
Isle of misfits 