JIGSAW PUZZLES

I grew up putting together jigsaw puzzles.  In the days when there were only 3 channels on the TV, jigsaw puzzles were an inexpensive and enjoyable family activity.  I remember those huge puzzles with 1500 pieces or more.  For many years, I would search for the most unusual or difficult puzzles to give my parents as Christmas gifts.  Those were the days of a long time ago… a simpler time.  Little did I realize, however, that I would find myself in these middle years of my life once again doing jigsaw puzzles.

That’s how I felt at my last my dance lesson.  I was working a puzzle.  Fitting the pieces of a Tango together. Arms as wide as possible.  Chest high and out.  Gaze at 10 o’clock.  Knees bent.   And on, and on… and on.  Piece by intricate piece.  Heel lead.  Timing… Music…  ARRRGH!!!  Lead!!!  Lead early!!!!

The thing that makes this so very different, and I suppose it is what makes it such a challenge, is that while I’m putting the pieces together in one place, an invisible foe is taking them apart in another.  I suppose I could blame the instructor.  I could blame the studio.  I could blame the only other couple on the dance floor.  I suppose I could blame George Bush.  But… I know that there is no one to blame but the dance demons that fight against anyone one who has ever laced up a pair of suede soled ballroom shoes. 

Just about the time I get my arms in the correct position, my feet are wrong.  Just when I think I’ve got my spine in the correct place, my hips are incorrect.  And my knees… they are never where they should be.

Glenn asks if music would help.  My simple response is, “No.”  But what I am thinking is: A resurrected Carlos Di Sarli playing Bahia Blanco over in the corner of the studio probably wouldn’t help.  The Tango demons were tearing up my puzzle.  Each time I put a couple of pieces together, other pieces fell apart.  Was the puzzle beginning to look like a Tango?  Perhaps… only briefly.  Or did it look like a pile of pieces that didn’t even begin to represent the picture on the front of the box?  More likely.

But this one thing I have learned.  The prizes are always awarded to those who never give up… to those who don’t quit.  Working alone; then with a partner.  Listening.  Learning.  Watching. Failing, and then trying it again.  Fitting the pieces together.  Never quitting.  Reaching that point of frustration, then saturation.  Having someone who can tell when I have had enough, and when I can take more… this is essential.  Having a coach that can guide me through this process is a gift.

I have to constantly remind myself, puzzles are only completed by those with patience and perseverance.  I have to remember that what I see today is not the complete picture.