B+C+B+C+B+C: Puzzleholics Anonymous

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Puzzleholics Anonymous

Confession time:
My name is Chelsea and I am a puzzleholic.

This has been going on for probably about 18 years now.

It was most severe in the tween years (12-14ish). Puzzles were strewn about my room...finished masterpieces were glued and hung all around my walls. Every waking hour of my life was devoted to these feverishly completing these jigsaw puzzles. Christmas and birthdays were disappointing to me unless filled with puzzle gifts.
I just couldn't help it - putting those puzzles together was a thrill. Starting with the border...completing specific portions...matching those together...finding that ONE little piece that tied entire chains...the exhilaration of it all was beyond description.
I tried to hide my obsession. I mean, seriously - how cool was it in Junior High to be doing puzzles?! Didn't matter that they were way un-sissy skill level - we're talking thousand-PLUS pieces, landscape scenes, even DOUBLESIDED challenges! Alas - still, my hobby was a bit of an embarrassment.
I managed to escape the addiction by running off to Hawaii for college, marrying a non-user, and beginning a life free of puzzles.
Christmas in Spokane was the only trigger, as we traditionally completed a Christmas puzzle as a family throughout the holiday freetime. Just the sight of the puzzles.. sitting there, unfinished...would trigger me into a frenzy of compulsive piecing together.

Recently I had a relapse. I received a puzzle for free. Of course I couldn't help myself - I dumped the pieces onto the floor and dove in. Brianna watched in horror as I ceased our daily merriment and devoted my time to completing the puzzle.
But my worst fear came true.
This is the stuff of nightmares...
Just the thought alone sends chills down my spine.
But it happened, and I am still trying to recover.
I discovered, upon completion, that...
THIS PUZZLE IS MISSING A PIECE!

7 comments:

Chelsea and Cody said...: I can totally picture every bit of that story!; November 1, 2008 at 6:10 AM
Julie said...: mwhahah......I know who has your puzzle piece...mwhahaha!!!; November 2, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Debbie said...: Interesting. If I had understood I was feeding such an out of control addiction, I might of held back a puzzle gift or two! I do remember all those glued together complicated puzzles - oh, what to do with them on the final move. I remember you being alittle concerned about their "disappearance"!; November 2, 2008 at 9:04 PM
chelsea mckell said...: mom....YOU THREW AWAY MY PUZZLES?!?!

I dont know if I can forgive this.; November 2, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Hetzlers said...: Wow! The secret lives people lead! I had no idea you were so hooked! He he! Perhaps there is a 12 step program somewhere?!; November 2, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Ivy Lou said...: I am so glad there is someone else who will admit a puzzle addiction!! Want to have a puzzle day? I used to have game night with the girls and puzzles produced some of our most fun times!! You rock!; November 5, 2008 at 12:34 PM
chelsea mckell said...: jules.... GIVE ME BACK MY PUZZLE PIECE!

sister hetzler.... the church actually has an LDS 12-step program. I think that might be appropriate for me in my current condition.

ivy.... YES! puzzle day! that would be so fun! And I even have a new one I got on freecycle I could bring - it's an Anne Geddes (cute baby in big flower) That's so funny you're a puzzle-doer too.; November 8, 2008 at 6:30 PM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Puzzleholics Anonymous

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