Hello Puzzlers!

This week I will share a puzzle experience that I think will resonate very well with a lot of you.

I consider myself to be a very good puzzler. I can usually do a 1000-piece puzzle within a few days. When I grabbed the most recent puzzle out of my pile, it was a TOUGH one. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be until I started. I should have known. 😊

Avocado Park By Gibsons

I loved this puzzle. It was my first Gibsons Puzzle. I loved the feel of the pieces and the fit, and the image was ADORABLE. I couldn’t resist all the cute little avocados eating French fries, holding hands, and doing exercises. The puzzle just made me smile.

It took me about 9 days to do this puzzle. I thought it would take weeks. In the grand scheme of anything, it really wasn’t that much time. But I was STRESSED. I was staring at the pile of the shiny puzzle boxes that were waiting to be completed and I was putting so much pressure on myself to get to the next one. There is a rush that comes from completing one to get to the next one, and I lost sight of the joy of the actual puzzle process.

When I was younger, we used to have to wait a week to get to the next episode of a sitcom. Now we can binge a season (or sixteen – I’m looking at you, Grey’s Anatomy). We rush to get things done and we are sad they are over, only to wait in anticipation for the next thing to be available to us.

I asked the question online:

I can usually do a 1000-piece puzzle in a few days. I am working on a difficult one and it is taking me longer. I find myself feeling stressed as if I need to finish quickly to get to the next puzzle. Is that weird? Anyone else have this issue? thanks.

I found out that I am very normal! We love our puzzles, but we put pressure on ourselves, or we just get sick of looking at the image and want to move on to the next one. Once we start a puzzle, we HAVE to finish it. Some people do a few at once so they always have the puzzle fix of a new puzzle.

On the flipside, if it’s stressful, it’s taking away from the fun. I had to take my own advice and remind myself that it’s not a race and it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get done. My to do pile is not going anywhere. It will continue to grow, and puzzles don’t have an expiry date.

All this being said, I have my Avocado Park puzzle ready to glue and hang up - to remind me of this lesson  and also because there is no way I am taking it apart. 😊

This is the best addiction I could have. 😊