When my boys were young we started doing puzzles together,
big puzzles, like the 500-1000 piece puzzles.
We enjoyed the challenge of finding the right pieces and celebrated
together when the “one” we’d been looking for was finally found.
One evening we were finishing up a flag puzzle we’d been
working on for a while. I had to leave
for a meeting and knew my family would finish it while I was gone. I was sad to miss the culmination of our
project… so I decided to take a piece with me so they couldn’t complete it
without me.
During my meeting I was preoccupied with feelings of guilt
and selfishness. Those feelings were
only compounded when I returned home to find my family eagerly waiting for me
to return so we could finish the puzzle together. As they handed me a puzzle piece they said,
“Mom, we lost a piece, but we saved the last piece we had for you to put
in.” Sheepishly, I retrieved the missing
piece from my back pocket, told them what I’d done, and let them have the honor
of placing the last two pieces of our puzzle.
Definitely not my proudest mommy-moment, but I learned that
sometimes my competitiveness distracts me from doing the right thing. Since that evening I have been more aware of my competitive streak ~ which makes it easier for me, in the moment, to figure out if "this is the time to win at all costs" or not.
