Here it is Sunday again. And every Sunday I dutifully take out the puzzle page, fold it just so, put it down on the table, and -- look at it. Then I look at LAST weeks puzzle, which, by the way this one is. I don't get very far with Sunday's Crosswords. I do Monday through Wednesday pretty thoroughly. Thursday and Friday, not so much. Saturday is pretty iffy too. Sunday is my greatest challenge.
My sister, Jacquie, does ALL of the Sunday Crossword. With very little or no help from Google. She has a store of facts -- current, obscure, and historical -- and is aware of all the nuances and subtleties that are inherent in the clues. Our dad did crosswords. For as far back as I can remember. Jacquie had the privilege of sharing the morning crossword adventure with him for many years. I suppose it must have been a "bonding" time for them. I am a little jealous of that, but I am so happy that she has those memories of their time together.
My dad did crossword puzzles. In ink. My sister, Jacquie, does them too. Don't know whether she does them in ink yet or not, but she does them. And she finishes them. For some reason I was prompted to do the crossword a week ago Monday. I worked on it and I finished it. Monday's are easy. They get progressively more difficult as the week goes on. This Monday I was pulled to the crossword also. I cut it out of the local paper and worked on it and finished all but three squares. Tuesday's crossword I cut out also. I finished most of it, leaving the bottom left corner. Today? Forget it. I have a few words here and there -- and that is with the help of Google and the dictionary.So why do I push myself to do this? Do I want to measure up to Dad? Do I want to compete successfully with Jacq? I hope that it is neither one of these things. I hope that it is just a digression from the routine. I hope that I can be content with being who I am.
