Pick up the pieces

My mother loved jigsaw puzzles. She preferred big ones — 2,000 or 2,500 pieces, which aren’t easy to find. She welcomed help; when my siblings and I were living at home, or later when we came for a visit, if she was working on one she’d happily invite us to sit down and take part.

It had been years since I’d worked an actual, physical jigsaw puzzle. In the early days of the lockdown, I saw stories about jigsaw puzzles making a comeback, and selling out at many stores. Of course, I continued to go to work each day, and so the lockdown didn’t affect me the way it affected some. So I didn’t rush out…