WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Today marks the 25th anniversary of one of the worst days ever in American history. Close to 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001, leaving behind grieving children, moms and dads, husbands and wives, and cherished friends. Even though a quarter of a century has now passed since these tragic events unfolded before our very eyes on television, I can still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I’m sure most of you can as well. I will never forget this day or the many events and changes that followed in the days, months, and years following. Our world changed completely.

Seeing as how this is meant to be a positive, judgement free, and non-political-based blog, I will not spend more time dwelling on the negative impacts of this day. Instead, I will choose to bring this around to what this blog is all about — jigsaw puzzles! Don’t worry, I am going somewhere with this and it will all tie together in the end, I promise.

Almost a full decade before 9/11 became an instantly recognizable term, I was in my senior year of high school or may have just graduated as I don’t remember the exact date this occurred, but somewhere in 1992. I was out shopping with my mom and we were in some sort of toy shop wen I saw this 5,000 piece puzzle and I was immediately mesmerized by it. A 5,000 piece puzzle! Way bigger than anything I had ever seen in my life up to that point. I had maybe completed one or two 1,000 piece puzzles at that time as I never had anywhere to do them except the dining room table. Inevitably my mom would need to the table back before I was finished. So I started them, but never got to finish most. So when I excitedly pointed out this puzzle to my mom, she actually laughed. I don’t recall her exact words now, but I’m sure it was something like, “You would never finish something like that!”

I remember one of the things I loved most about this puzzle was the fact that it was a New York City skyline puzzle and since I was a small child, going to New York City was my ultimate dream. I wanted to see all the skyscrapers in person. I wanted to spend my honeymoon there. Little did I know then that my future husband would be from there, but I should have figured based on how in love with anything and everything about New York City I was back then.

Of course I didn’t get the puzzle, and my mom would have been absolutely right in that I would never have finished it back then so I understand why she laughed and moved right on past this glorious hunk of cardboard.

Since that day in the toy shop, I have thought about this puzzle periodically off and on. I even contemplated purchasing it as an adult when I got much more into puzzling, but by that time 9/11 had already happened and those gorgeous towers are gone — never to be seen in the famous NYC skyline ever again and that makes me sad. They were such an iconic landmark and focal point of the skyline that I now know I could never do that puzzle with the towers in it — it would be too depressing. I have purchased a few New York City puzzles over the years and do plan to do them, but I think they are all painted or photographed from a different angle where the missing Twin Towers are not noticable in the image.

Has this ever happened to you — where you cannot puzzle something an image you once loved because it reminds you of something sad or unpleasant in your life? If so, I’d love to hear about it.