Good Bye Old Pal...

I'm about to be done with a Sudoku book that I've been working on forever!  When I do a puzzle, I date it and write down what I was doing while completing the grid.

According to my dates, when I started this book, Summer was 5 years old and Nicholas was 3!  They are 11 and 9 now.  What is funny about charting my life through the the times when I do Sukoku, is that these are the moments when my life is at extremes...relaxing, pretending to relax during stressful situations, watching TV, being alone, being in a group of people.  I've only got 14 puzzles left.  My hope is to finish this book asap.  It will be with great sadness and a little relief that I chuck this book in the recycling bin.  A lot of work.  A lot of memories.  And, a lot of books still to go.  *SIGH*

 Here's the Cliff's Notes from the story...

This was when Summer and Nicholas were still little.  I'm sure that The Corpse Bride was a movie that I rationalized as a cartoon/animated movie and something that I would enjoy watching too.  Summer used to love this movie.  In March of 2007, she was five and Nicholas was three.  Gee...that doesn't seem like a G rated movie.  Oops.

Your tax dollars at work, folks.  In 2007, I was a second grade teacher and rather than do something productive with my time while waiting for the next parent/teacher conference to show up, I played Sudoku.  I'm not too proud of this one either.

We don't have a fancy garden tub in our master bath, and when I want to take a tub that means I bathe in the kids' bathroom. According to this entry, Nicholas must have wanted to join me.  He was still three years old and as his Pop Pop and GrandMark said, "terminally delicious".

I just shared with Nicholas this... ( Mind you, he reads and writes in cursive now.)  At nine, he didn't even remember the show or the character Jay Jay the Jet Plane.  Ugh...my heart is a little broken.  He used to LOVE that show and even made up his own songs and lyrics that featured Jay Jay.

And in the same vein as Jay Jay, there was Thomas.  Thomas was Nicholas's LIFE!  All he did was watch Thomas, play with Thomas toys, collect Thomas trains, wear Thomas logo clothes, sing songs about Thomas.  We do not have even one single solitary Thomas left.  The DVD's, books, toys, clothes, jammies...all gone.

 

Some things don't change (much) though.  I am still a NASCAR fan but I no longer have kids who take afternoon naps.  No afternoon nap means no excuse to sit in front of the TV for 3+ hours on a Saturday or Sunday.  Now, I either miss the race or tape it and then fall asleep watching it anyway.  

While the kids and I were enjoying a meal at the Colonade, I must have thought that it would be a good idea to do Sudoku.  Weird.  My guess is that in 2008, I didn't have an iphone to poke at... I know that I am guilty for being on my phone when just the kids and I go out for food.  

In 2008, my cousin got married and we drove to Charleston.  I did about a million puzzles on the ride up and back.  

Unrelated to my cousin, Stephanie Harvey came to speak to the teachers in Hillsborough County.  Not wanting to be forced to make chit chat with my colleagues, I brought my Sudoku book as a protective shield.

Usually, I only do the puzzles on the right side of the book because I like to fold back the cover.  When you fold back the cover though, it makes an annoying wrinkle on the opposite page.  If you break the spine on the book, the pages will fall out.  So, that is why I only do the right side of the page.  But, I decided to do something a little differently.  The writing says, "Two years working on the even numbered puzzles.  Now restart on the odd numbers.  5/3/08"  (I should also note that this particular book is made out of regular quality paper whereas most puzzle books are newsprint.  The newsprint is even more of a pain in the neck because the lead transfers from the opposite page.  Another reason why I would do this book "again".)

Euphoria!  I remember working this puzzle, surveying my kingdom, and sitting on the fly bridge of my dad's boat at the marina in Old Bahama Bay.  Soon....soon...I will return to you, my beloved Bahamas!  Until then, I will count the days.

With my trusty Sudoku shield, I went camping with the Boy Scouts at MacDill Air Force Base.  Nothing says, "Don't talk to me." like a girl with a book of puzzles sitting by a campfire.  I am such a dork.  ;)

And so, here we are.  This was on 3/12/12.  My trusty Sudoku shield acted as my security blanket as I waited for my primary care physcician to approve my hysterectomy.  

Now, we are almost full circle from watching the Corpse Bride with the kids when they were just little, to watching Duck Dynasty with the kids now that they are older. 

So, as you can see, this book kind of marks points in my life.  As I complete the final few puzzles, I reflect on my life over the last five years.  A lot has changed.  But, thankfully, a lot is still the same.  I'm still a quirky dork.  My husband still loves me, quirks and all.  Summer is as tall as I am and we can wear the same size shoe now, but she's still my "Peanut".  Nicholas is obsessed with Lego kits and has left Thomas and Jay Jay behind, but he's still just my little guy.  

Thank you, Sodoku book.  You've been there with me through it all.  

Now, I have two crossword puzzle books, one other Sudoku book and one word search book to complete.  And then...finally...I can cross that off my 45under45 list.