Head Coming Out of the Clouds. No Longer Puzzled & Moving On.

For the 2nd year in a row, I've spent part of my evenings during the holiday break, piecing together 1,000 piece puzzles and allowing my brain to work on something different than just playing on keyboard piano. Before I left for Syracuse, I got the frame complete (minus a piece I found after I returned) and then I do a little here and there, every time I walk by.

Given that everything is back to chaos next week, I chose last night to eat my dinner at the table and do my best to complete the task I wanted to complete before returning to work. At 10:45 p.m. I finished.
It's not brain surgery, a novel, a poem, lesson plans, evaluation, reports, grants, paper proposals, a chapter, or a load of laundry. It simply is puzzling work that keeps my brain tricked and bothered, with my OCD going completely boggled. When the last piece slides in I feel a sense of relief. I was happy, too, when the five pieces I thought I was missing turned up under the kitchen table.

The rest of the day was spent designing advertisements for the summer, working on syllabi, visiting schools, and putting away laundry from the trip that piled up in the upstairs laundry room.

I'm reading more and more about the importance of play and creativity, something we lack in this fast pace, digitally-changing world. Yesterday, I kept the noise level low, my mind clear, and my purpose in tact - puzzle, and only puzzle (well, after dinner anyway).

It is done, I will glue it, and then find a frame.

Doors are closed, but behind each lies a new adventure. Year two of the tradition is complete, and I know it is mindless, very much like this post. From this point on, however, I'll be in complete cerebral land once again. The calendar is packed and the responsibilities many.

For a little while, however, I played.