The puzzles serve as a steady distraction, if a patient is alone in the waiting room. No fretting about that walk past the big vault door. Lose yourself in finding the blue piece with a bit of white on one edge, and the minutes fly by.
They are also an icebreaker. We greet each other and marvel at how much got done after we left yesterday, or complain that we are STILL doing this one; we hunt for that elusive piece that will complete an entire area, or laugh at how some people can pick up a random piece and just KNOW where it goes.
It's very different from my chemo experience, where I never really saw the same people from one visit to the next.
In a crazy twist of fate, someone who used to be one of my higher up managers is there every day with her friend, another woman I knew from the bank. So our familiarity has drawn other people into the circle of conversations. We are a lively, rowdy bunch, having fun while we eradicate those last wicked little cells surgery and chemo may have left behind.
I'll never be able to look at a 1,000 piece puzzle again without thinking of the people I've spent the last few weeks with.
1 comment:
That's a great idea! Makes me want to do a puzzle now. I'm glad it's brought you together.
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