Week 18: Nine of Hearts

Matthew

 Hello again, friends!  After a 3-year hiatus... I'm back!

Where did I go?  Well, life got busy.  The job I had in Hyde Park meant I commuted 3+ hours a day... and that left little precious time for fun projects.  Then I decided to go back to graduate school... and if I thought I was busy before, classes and internships and work and homework really did a good job of squeezing out any last remaining free moments.

Now, I'm graduated with my MSW!  In between job searching and cover letter-writing, I thought I'd keep myself somewhat sane and find some fun things to do.  Daily walks, a sleepover with my nephew, food and drinks with friends, visitors, a little golf, pulling out my french horn again, reading for pleasure and some volunteering here and there has kept me occupied.  Then I remembered the Deck of Goals and thought I'd pick up where I left off...

My dear friend Matt (also recent MSW grad) and I had an unemployed-persons brunch this week, and I gave him the 'honor' of selecting this week's card.  When I last packed up the deck, I failed to separate cards I'd already done from ones I needed to do, so he picked 2 that I'd already accomplished.  Third time's the charm!

One last piece to go!

This week's card told me I needed to complete a jigsaw puzzle.  Folks, I haven't ever done a puzzle in my adult life.  In fact, I don't really like puzzles.  The rest of my family LOVES them though, and I always seem to find myself putting in a few pieces when I'm visiting my parents.  (They usually have a puzzle-in-progress!)  I remember writing this goal to challenge myself to try something I wasn't fond of and to see if my opinion would change.

To be honest, I started this puzzle late April... and after one night of effort, it'd been sitting on my kitchen table.  I was actually relieved the card was selected this week, 'cause I've got friends coming to visit with their toddler in a week-ish and thought I should probably put it up before they arrive. I'm glad I had a reason to finish it before it went back into its box!

Anyway, verdict: I'm kind of a puzzle fan. They're a challenge and relaxing all at the same time. It's a good thing they get a thumbs-up from me because I got a new puzzle for graduation!  :)