Jigsoring

Jig-sor-ing- definition: the act of putting a jigsaw puzzle together (while having an Australian accent).

We have become obsessed with puzzles. I've never participated in such intense, focused activity, nor did I realize just how fun puzzles can be.

At the beginning of this week, someone found a 1000 piece puzzle and laid it out on a table. Throughout the week, all of us have worked on the puzzle at different times. Some of us have been more intensely focused and dedicated several hours, while others drop in occasionally. I have had to go out of my way to avoid the whole area, because what always starts as "I'm just gonna try to fit in one piece" or "I just have 5 minutes" usually leads to 2 hours of intense puzzle work.

Last night, there were 9 of us working intently. There was maybe 100 pieces left, but it was 10:30. "I'm going to bed in 5 minutes". That's the exact phrase all of us used, at least 15 times. As we had less and less pieces left, we started moving more quickly, 9 hands flying around the puzzle, bumping into each other, grabbing for pieces, while we made demands of each other such as, "I need a reddish piece with a blue corner." As the puzzle got closer to being finished, we got more and more excited as we placed each piece. The room was thick with excitement, as I've only ever seen at a sporting event or a really intense board game and we started to cheer each time a piece was put in. I never thought I would say that putting together a puzzle was fun, but it was a blast!

At 11:15, we had all but two pieces in. The Assistant Program Director had bet several people a million dollars that not all of the pieces would be there, and it was a concern that we pondered throughout the whole week (several, as in, 10 or more, suggested we count all the pieces to make sure they were all there, but we never did, we just had a lot of worried talks about whether we thought they were all there or not). After we put the last piece that we had into the puzzle, we all HIT the ground, searching for the missing pieces... And when we found them, and put them in, completing the puzzle, there was a roar of cheering, high fives, laughter and a group photo taken.

This group of staff is so wonderful for several reasons: the close nit, nearly family-like bond that we've developed, the ability to make absolutely anything and everything fun, the sense of community and teamwork that goes in to EVERYTHING we do, and an overall atmosphere of happiness and fun.

This morning, next to the completed puzzle from the night before, someone had opened and laid out another 1000 piece to work on. And as I type, the music is blasting and 3 people have already completed the edge... and so it begins again...