Pieces to the puzzle

Dad loved to work jigsaw puzzles, and with only a couple of exceptions he stayed with each puzzle until completion, no matter how hard. Often he worked the edge first, but sometimes he'd start in the middle of the puzzle. Other times he'd focus on a small area within the big picture of the puzzle, and after completing that section, he'd carefully place it in the framework he'd already put together. Regardless of the technique, all of his children and many of his grandchildren spent lots of pleasant hours hunched over the table with Grandpa and Grandma, hunting for just the right puzzle piece. "Puzzling" was relaxing and a time for comfortable conversation about almost any topic - past, present or future.

And so will be these memories. The stories won't follow any specific order. Sometimes they will present the edges, or the framework of his life. Other posts will be a specific section that will later fit in the larger picture. But regardless of how they come, together they will preserve a life well lived and our cherished memories - a completed puzzle.