When I was in the hospital a few weeks back, our wing had a common area with tables for games and puzzles. During the day I spent a lot of time around the table working on various puzzles. Over my four day stay, I notice how puzzles were both a conversational piece, a tool for decompressing, and a way to observe differences and characteristics in people.

Working on puzzles became a way for me to not only pass time and relax, but also made for some interesting people-watching time. Throughout the day, people would walk up and quickly find a piece or two before moving on to whatever they were doing next, while others spent hours focusing on how pieces went together.

In general puzzles have a way of bringing people together. Around the puzzle table I met many great people and had many interesting conversations. Above all I made some key observations about different kinds of people – particularly in regards to puzzles. There are the hunters who love to scour, dig and look for the hard-to-find pieces. There are competitors, who always seem to be racing against some imaginary clock to complete the puzzle. Then, there are strategists, who spend much of their time sorting pieces into piles by color. There are also the achievers, who are discontent until every piece has found its rightful spot. And finally there are the leisurely folks, the ones who are just happy to play a part, content to sit and talk for hours while unhurriedly perusing the pieces. Although every person’s process varies, the end goal is the same – to take a bunch of seemingly random pieces and fit them together until the picture of what you’re building comes into focus.

Reflecting on the different ways people approach puzzles helps me to begin to understand the different ways people approach life, especially when we encounter problems or go through difficult times. Additionally, putting puzzles together and watching others do so helps me to think about my path in life. Life is segmented into pieces. On a daily basis we are constantly trying to get our pieces to fit together. Sometimes the pieces fit perfectly into your daily path, while at other times it takes a lot of work to figure out how the different pieces (of life) fit together. At times you have to put a piece aside because it is out of place, or you don’t have time for it, or other pieces become more important. Each of the pieces – our relationships, careers, education, interests/hobbies – fit together to make us who we are. With both puzzles and life, getting those pieces to fit together is an emotional process. Sometimes we feel excited, overwhelmed, happy, hopeful, and confused. As we experience those emotions, we learn about ourselves.

Puzzles have always been part of my life. When I was young, I enjoyed putting all kinds of puzzles together. Then during my teen years, I discovered 3D puzzles. By the time I graduated high school, completed 3D puzzles filled my bedroom, until I moved away from home. My former husband was not impressed by puzzles or by my love of puzzles. Puzzles regardless if they were traditional or 3D or Lego sets, brought me, mom, grandmother, and in more recent years, Allyn, together in the evenings.

After my stay in the hospital, Allyn and I decided to make it a Lego weekend and put together several sets of Legos we had but had not had time to put together. As we were putting the Legos together, I noticed many of the same patterns. I was the leisurely participant while Allyn was the strategist.

The Lego set I put together was the NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander. (I have a slight obsession with space exploration and things NASA related). Then Allyn put together the Lego Technic Bugatti Chiron set, which I got him for his past birthday.

While the Lunar Lander set was a typical Lego set, the Bugatti Lego set was a challenge for even Allyn. The Bugatti set consisted of 900 plus steps and is based on a full-scale model of a full functional Bugatti. It has a Lego functional engine, transmission, axles, and wheels.  And of course, it moves.

For me Legos and puzzles represent life… we often take on or are given pieces and we have to figure out how and where they fit into the path we are on. Figuring out how all the pieces fit together can bring out an array of emotions, but it is what makes life exciting.