Puzzle With Mom

Sherri continued to puzzle as an adult but mostly when she would go visit with her mom. Then they would puzzle like crazy. This casual puzzle time soon became more regular when Sherri's dad past in 2017. Being his executor, she would drive up north to his house once a month. Sherri would go by herself, but her mom often drove over from Minnesota to keep Sherri company. A lot more puzzling was done than going through Dad's closets. They developed an even stronger bond during those two years. In 2018 they did 25 puzzles together. Then in 2019 it was 38 but then only managed to do 14 in 2020 due to the pandemic . Sherri says that they have done 15 so far in 2021, and she hopes to squeeze in at least one more visit before the year end.

"Puzzling with someone has different rules than when you are puzzling alone. We always declare what we are going to start with when we are turning the pieces over, with Mom getting the first pick. She invariably chooses something that catches her eye, while I try to pick something in a different part of the puzzle. We don’t start with the border, but we spread all of the pieces in front of us, leaving a little bit of workspace for each of us. We work separately for the most part, working towards each other. I try my best to get Mom to “colour within the lines” while Mom does her best to get me to “go with the flow”. Together, we make it work.

We still have deep discussions when we puzzle, but we also do a lot of reminiscing, laughing, sharing stories that we heard, singing along to some of our favourite music, and just catching up on each other’s lives while our hands are busy bringing order to chaos. Puzzling with my mom has become an important part of my life, and I take a lot of photos, trying to preserve those precious memories. My Mom is my greatest treasure, and I am so blessed to still have her with me."