Puzzling

Back in December, we did an Advent jigsaw puzzle. The holiday image came in 24 numbered little boxes with 40 or so pieces, and it took us about 10 minutes a day to assemble each section. It was a fun Christmas activity, only slightly marred by the fact that Day 7 was missing a piece. 

When we discovered the deficiency, we blamed ourselves and searched everywhere the piece could possibly have been dropped, on day 7 and every day after. But when we finished the puzzle, the piece was still missing.

"This puzzle is worthless now!" I proclaimed. "We can't lend it or trade it or even give it away because nobody wants to do a puzzle that's missing a piece." It was then that I found that puzzles make very good tinder for building fires. They even give a bit of color to the flames as they burn, and it didn't take long for the puzzle to be reduced to ash.

I had completely forgotten the incident until today, when, sitting at the dining room table, I spotted a puzzle piece on the floor. It was flipped over, and the number 7 was clearly stamped on its back. I gasped and retrieved the last piece of the Advent puzzle.

Friends, I have cleaned this small house thoroughly many times since December and have never seen a trace of the puzzle piece. And yet there it was today, in plain sight, not three feet from the table and in a regularly trafficked area. 

And now I'm sorry I burned the other 999!