When I was a young girl, probably back in the 60's, when I'd visit my grandmother, I noticed she always had a puzzle going. It must have had a subliminal effect on me, because, I didn't really start my puzzling until my kids were old enough to leave the pieces alone. I mean, who gets to the end of a puzzle to find that all the pieces aren't there?
So, for a long period of time, I didn't think about it. My kids were too young for me to explore the puzzling arena. And life was far to busy with the aerobic field just hitting the state with full force in the 70's and 80's. I gave it my all. I was thin and svelte, I was at peace, healthy, and very much encouraged raising my young children. Now I am telling my age, but the movement to eat healthy and exercise hit like a tidal wave, and I was first to be in that movement. The way it made me feel made me want more and more until I became too ill to walk. The doctors called it Fibromyalgia. This was in the 80's, and from that time to date... I have used walking as a tool to keep me from feeling poorly.
But I digress, Puzzling was a tool I used in my life when all the kids left home to explore their own futures. I have been taking care of my granddaughter most of her life, so I didn't puzzle again, until she became old enough to go to grade school. And since that time, I have put puzzles together. Now, it's great as a form of therapy, since I cannot get out like I did when I was younger. And I know that there must be others out there that puzzle. Whether it's crossword, forward thinking puzzles or puzzle boxes, I am sure that people are using puzzles to exercise their gray matter, and remain sharp in our technologically advanced society. I intend to bring puzzles back, because you don't get courage watching the Television and finding other people do odd things on those reality shows. But you do get courage by starting a project and completing it.
