I have always known my mother is smart---really smart---but until you have seen her knock out a crossword puzzle, you won’t be adequately impressed with her intelligence and wit.
I’m not talking about the silly crossword puzzles in the back of People magazine. Nor do I mean a word search, which is not even close. I mean the clever and just a tiny bit snobbish New York Times crossword puzzles. My mom claims she can only do Monday or Tuesday, and maaaybe a Wednesday, but I have seen her work harder ones through the course of the day and she always gets them done. My second biggest goal in life, after qualifying for Celestial Glory, is to solve NYT puzzles as well as my mom.
I used to do the puzzles in our newspaper, always in blue pen, and would put them away before Zane got home so he didn’t think that’s what I did all day (It wasn’t, of course, but leaving them out on the counter gave me reason to stop and do one or two more words in passing). I always felt a little weird for wanting to do it everyday, a little obsessive actually, and would hardly admit to myself that the puzzle was the reason I subscribed to the newspaper at all. (That, and the Bizarro cartoon, which the Statesman has since stopped printing…)
Then I saw the movie “Word Play” (with Mom, of course). Will Shortz hosts a crossword puzzle tournament every year and this film documented a handful of the contestants throughout their year, in preparation for the tournament. Oh my. If I thought I was obsessed, was I wrong. These people are crazy. Puzzle solving is all they do. It’s their life. Suddenly, I felt relieved of the burden of trying to hide my desire, no, my need, to do a crossword puzzle every single day! Now I realized that there are lots of people who do that, it’s not weird at all! I even bought a book of NYT puzzles from Barnes and Noble—200 of them in one shot! Now I don’t have to wait for the paper every morning. I can do them whenever, wherever and I don’t even feel guilty.
I’m not talking about the silly crossword puzzles in the back of People magazine. Nor do I mean a word search, which is not even close. I mean the clever and just a tiny bit snobbish New York Times crossword puzzles. My mom claims she can only do Monday or Tuesday, and maaaybe a Wednesday, but I have seen her work harder ones through the course of the day and she always gets them done. My second biggest goal in life, after qualifying for Celestial Glory, is to solve NYT puzzles as well as my mom.
I used to do the puzzles in our newspaper, always in blue pen, and would put them away before Zane got home so he didn’t think that’s what I did all day (It wasn’t, of course, but leaving them out on the counter gave me reason to stop and do one or two more words in passing). I always felt a little weird for wanting to do it everyday, a little obsessive actually, and would hardly admit to myself that the puzzle was the reason I subscribed to the newspaper at all. (That, and the Bizarro cartoon, which the Statesman has since stopped printing…)
Then I saw the movie “Word Play” (with Mom, of course). Will Shortz hosts a crossword puzzle tournament every year and this film documented a handful of the contestants throughout their year, in preparation for the tournament. Oh my. If I thought I was obsessed, was I wrong. These people are crazy. Puzzle solving is all they do. It’s their life. Suddenly, I felt relieved of the burden of trying to hide my desire, no, my need, to do a crossword puzzle every single day! Now I realized that there are lots of people who do that, it’s not weird at all! I even bought a book of NYT puzzles from Barnes and Noble—200 of them in one shot! Now I don’t have to wait for the paper every morning. I can do them whenever, wherever and I don’t even feel guilty.
4 comments:
I must -sadly- admit that I am only good at the ones in the back of People ;-) The other ones hurt my self esteem just looking at them!
You and Mom are amazing to be able to do them :-)
Your new background is my favorite
Heather for some reason I don't have your email address saved, so this is my communication source of choice to apologize again for being late yesterday!! I truly value your friendship and I HATE it when I make other people mess up their plans!! (especially when it involves you going from a house full of preschoolers to caring for an infant all within minutes of each other!!) You are always so gracious, even when I know you have lost your mind! You amaze me with your endless child-patience! (and late-parent patience...thanks and sorry again.)
(and just to stay on topic...I am HORRIBLE at crosswords, and word searches...and soduku...just for the record.)
Heather! It's great to find your blog, your family looks great! It's fun to see all the pictures of your kids, they have grown so much. I'm simply in survival mode right now. I will be induced on Friday if I don't have the baby before then.
If I didn't have a NYTimes Crossword Puzzle book by my bedside every night I would have a panic attack!!
Thanks for the kind words!
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