Distractions

Have you ever needed a distraction . . . a task or entertainment to get your mind off of something?

Well, I’ve needed a lot of distractions lately. If I didn’t distract myself, I’d be crying twenty-four hours a day. Those who read my blog know that we recently had to say goodbye to our boy, Max (I thank  readers for bearing with me, as I’ve used my blog to express my grief). I do need to move forward and not constantly have that missing piece on my mind.

My husband has also needed distractions, and his favorite thing is to have fix-it projects. He’s had plenty of those to do around the house.

For me, I’ve been writing more often. I also put together a little surprise 80th birthday party for my mom. It came up quick after Max’s passing, so I had about three weeks to get it organized. There were only around 20 of us, so it wasn’t huge or anything.

Our entertainment distraction has been a lot of streaming programs, plus a couple of movies at the actual theater.

The biggest distraction that has been helping the husband and me, is something that was inspired by Jill Weatherholt.

Jigsaw Puzzles.

Jill tackles much bigger puzzles than we’re doing. She can even do them without following a picture. Since we are novices, we’ve only been doing 500 pieces, and we’re constantly studying the puzzle picture. I have to tell you, these have been a welcome distraction. This is an activity that we never did when Max was around, so it’s the one thing that doesn’t remind us of him. He used to be included in everything we did, from going to visit family, to going on vacation. He even ate his dinner when we ate ours.Puzzles require a good amount of concentration. At least for novices like us. This is helping to center our minds and focus on something other than our grief.Take a look at the picture of the jigsaw puzzle we’re almost finished with this week. Because I’m a lover of books, this is my dream bookstore (full picture below).Two levels filled with the papery scent of pages, comfy wing backs chairs, and furry pets roaming around (cat on the chair and on railing above, dog down in front on the floor). The only added benefit might be a fireplace and a hot chocolate.I like to put together scenes of places where I can envision myself visiting. The cottages in this puzzle seem like a place in Europe . . . say England, France, or Italy. I imagine myself walking the gardens there and spending the night within, imagining the stories its walls could tell from bygone eras.

We must’ve planned to do jigsaw puzzles at one time, because over the weekend I found an unopened jigsaw box. It has five puzzles, so we have plenty of distractions for a while.

What have you used for distractions when you need them?