May's new addiction

I don't really know how to start, because this obsession bordering on addiction (which is usually the case) isn't really cool. Maybe I should just start with the worst. I bought a roll mat. Not for a yoga session but for... a jigsaw puzzle. Yes, I didn't know this could happen to me either. Yes, maybe at 108, but now in the prime of my life, well no.

It all started with my parents giving my (autistic) daughter a 1000-piece puzzle. Now my girl has quite a unique view on life in general and puzzles in particular, but 1000 pieces is beyond her. I hoped her desire to complete the puzzle would fade and dumped it in the playroom. But every day I found her there, picking up a few pieces from the chaos while she said, ‘It's almost done, right mama?’ In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I couldn't really handle a 1000-piece puzzle, so I avoided the disaster area where all the pieces were swirling around the room, but at Christmas, I found it a bit sad. So I rolled up my sleeves, took all the pieces to the dining table, and started working on the life's work with her.

When I stalled, I thought maybe some pieces were missing. I went with scissors along the couch and the bed that are in the playroom and scraped about thirty puzzle pieces from there. As if old friends were entering my life, I recognized the missing pieces. The feet of Winnie the Pooh, the ribbon of the Christmas ornament, and the beak of Donald Duck. But I was missing more. The cleaner saw me working and said she might have accidentally vacuumed up a few. So a moment later, I found myself with scissors and a full vacuum cleaner bag.

Suddenly, I found myself watching YouTube videos of adult puzzlers revealing their techniques. But that darn puzzle needs to be finished. Even if it's just because I want to get rid of those annoying pieces that have been taking up my dining table for a week. And to see the little face of my sweet girl that will only truly be at peace once it's done.

So today is being delivered: the roll mat in question that accommodates a puzzle of up to 1000 pieces and that you can, if you want to do something else for a moment, an extra copy of the same puzzle (because I suspect there are more pieces missing) and six professional sorting trays that allow you to pre-sort the different pieces so that searching for a piece with two protrusions and a notch becomes easier.

If you think I've gone cuckoo: you're absolutely right.

And if you're really good at it, could you join me? I'll refill your glass. All the time.