Sometimes we get answers from unexpected places

Quite often, I have noticed that our lives of being mothers and fathers are accompanied by moments of pure, unabridged awe over things we see our children do. I for one have routinely been touched by the actions or words of my children. It seems that even though our kids consistently impress us there is always that proverbial “holy cow” moment, which reveals itself at the perfect time. One such time for me came last year as my family and I were on our annual “school’s out for summer” outing.

For those of you who follow our writings about the girls will recognize that last year’s outing included my families attempt to “unplug” ourselves from electronic devices and teach the girls about the important things in life. The adventure included our renting a rustic cabin along the shores of the Table Rock Lake. With very few modern amenities we were forced, or graced, depending on your outlook, to journey outside the norm, spending time conversing, playing board games, and wandering the forest simply finding solace in each other and nature.

One action my wife and the girls decided to take part in, during our adventure, was the fine art of assembling a puzzle. Little did I know, the trio had picked out the perfect, thousand-piece puzzle during their initial shopping outings for supplies. I’ve been told that finding the perfect puzzle, with the perfect image was relatively simple with each girl agreeing. When asked about my excitement, which, according to the girls, was surely brewing about the inevitable fact that I would be helping assemble the puzzle, I had to think fast and develop a line of reasoning which would rid me of the eventual responsibility of taking part in the process. Not that I didn’t think it would be a good idea, puzzles are simply not something I looked forward to.

As the evening fell upon us, my eldest child decided that it was the opportune moment to begin the assembly. Bearing a big smile on my face, and agreeing head shake, my mind rapidly began trying to come up with any acceptable excuse to not take part. To my dismay, the child was on her game and rapidly assembled the family leaving me with no choice but to partake in the dreaded monotony of bringing this image to life. Luckily, merely moments after we began, the trio recognized that good ol’ dad was not adding, in a positive manner, to the process so when I gracefully stepped out for a bit they really didn’t complain, nor did they invite me to re-engage.

Upon my return to the room, I watched as my wife and children had a blast finding the perfect piece and putting them all together. After a short time, my youngest lost interest and began planning her exit while the final two continued the struggle. As they continued, I routinely joked with my wife about the fact that like many things, there was probably one piece missing which they would not discover until they are almost done. Flashing that well known close your mouth look, I decided that it was in my best interest to watch in silence and simply enjoy the moment. The process of assembling the puzzle took two days. On the second day my wife revealed that I was in a moderate amount of trouble for “putting negativity” in the air because she had a nightmare the night prior about not finding one piece of the puzzle. Laughing, we simply kept the process going as I began encouraging the girls to continue. As I prepared the barbecue for our evening meal my wife came and revealed that I wouldn’t believe what happened. As I inquired, she revealed that they had completed the entire puzzle. She asked if I wanted to know the best part to wit, I stated I would. It was then that she disclosed that the entire puzzle was done with the exception to the one piece which was missing.

Understanding that my next choice of words could be extremely important and more than likely life extending or shortening, I simply looked and said you must be kidding. Like a good husband, I immediately went to work checking everywhere, under things, and in between items to locate the final piece of the puzzle. With no success I made the decision to quietly return to the barbeque and hope I survived the evening since it was me who “put that out there in the universe”.

By the third day we could laugh, but truly were confused. With no one daring to move the treasured artwork, it sat as a visual reminder of hard work alongside frustration coupled with a tell-tell monument to a husband simply keeping his mouth shut. It was then that my wife turned to our youngest child and asked her if she had any idea where the missing piece of the puzzle could be. The child, excitedly rose to her feet and jumped into action in an apparent depiction of an athlete finally getting the call to help her team win. Without hesitation she quickly placed her hand to her mouth, in thought, and after a short time, moved towards the couch where she retrieved one small puzzle piece, a perfect fit, finalizing all the hard work the family had done.

As we all simultaneously exhaled, my wife and I stood in amazement. My wife joked with the child, asking her if she hid the piece. The child assured her she had not but remembered, after being asked about the missing piece, that she saw a puzzle piece there the night before. Thinking back, I am reminded about how often we continue our journey of life, focused on the missing piece rather than process by which it is assembled. In some cases, we spend hours taking the time to make all the pieces fit, all while simply hoping everything is available to us to complete the task. When we come across difficulty, or a missing piece our frustrations overwhelm us, rendering us somewhat useless in completing our task or feeling defeated. As with the puzzle piece, it is when we look outward, opening our hearts and speech that sometimes, the answers come from the least expected places and relief can be had.

Richard J. Stephens lives in Carter County and is the father of three little ladies ranging in age from eight to 29.