Puzzles can eff off as far as I'm concerned.

Allegedly, we're supposed to learn something new every day.

I'm clearly behind the class here because I'm certain I don't learn something new every day; in fact, I think I may be forgetting something old every day, thereby gradually becoming more and more stupid.

But yesterday, I did learn something new. And that something was a very valuable lesson.

It's been raining here for, let's see, 1, 2, 3, 4... 100 million days in a row now and everyone is getting a touch of cabin fever, so when I was in the local Sallies and saw the stack of puzzles, I had visions of us sitting around the table, the fire glowing in the background, chatting merrily away with the occasional "jolly good", and "oh, I say", finally completing the puzzle and growing closer as a family. It wouldn't be about the actual completion of the puzzle, oh no no no, it would be about the journey.

The truth was far more gritty.

I opened the box, and Remy ate a piece. I yelled. Jules stuck his finger in Remy's mouth to get any remaining piece, and Remy bit his finger.

So, I thought to myself, 'that's ok; Jules and I will do it once Remy is in bed tonight. We'll laugh, remark at how much we love each other, and forever remember this as the day that we grew so close that there were never any harsh words spoken between us again'.

Remy went to bed at about 7.30, and so did Jules.

I was determined not to give up on the puzzle. It didn't ask to be wrenched out of its cosy spot in the shop only to be cruelly abandoned by its new owner that very same day.

So I sat down at the table by myself, the laptop beside me so I could listen to podcasts, and began the puzzle.

Things didn't start well. About 60% of the puzzle seemed to be blue. Sure, variations on light blues and dark blues, but still, it was mostly one colour.

I didn't give up.

I picked out all the bits with straight edges. And that's when I suspected that I wasn't having fun. In fact, if anything I was starting to get tense. Very tense. Angry in fact.

I kept going. I found all the similar colours and put them together.

And that's when it struck me. Doing a puzzle is like cleaning the house. You find random bits of crap EVERYWHERE and have to find somewhere to put them. It takes a long time, and when you finish, it goes back to looking like it did before you started.

I gave up. Puzzles suck.