Putting puzzles together helps me feel like I’m pulling my life together… piece by piece. Find the piece that looks right observing color, shape, and other details and pop it into place! It’s so satisfying! I started with 1000 pieces of something that brings me joy… HOME. A kitchen with a dog and cookies baking in the oven and warm lighting. Cookies and coffee. The dishes are clean and the sink is empty. There is evidence of life all over the place, though. It’s not a pristine, untouched, sterile scene. The sun is setting outside the kitchen window and there are herbs growing on the sill. Glass jars are half full of ingredients and a recipe card.

I purposely chose this scene because it’s a goal for me. Something deep inside me yearns for this kind of environment. It’s been there my whole life. My childhood wasn’t calm and peaceful like this scene. I grew up in a very large stepfamily… from age 6. There were seven of them and three of us. The family rounded out with one more child for my mom and stepdad together at an eleven count, ages spanning almost 20 years. Our kitchen was chaotic… nothing like this.