It’s True …. Kind of

I do love puzzles, and I can’t make gravy. Well, I can, but not consistently. What in the world do these things have in common? How is it possible there could be a relationship between loving puzzles and making gravy? The relationship for me is that both require the right pieces or ingredients to form. I can see the overall picture, but I can’t always replicate it.

Making Gravy

The other night I made breakfast for dinner. Though neither of my children like gravy, I had not made any in awhile (at least five years) so I decided to make a small batch with dinner, mostly for myself. As always, I knew the odds that the gravy would actually turn out were 50/50. I don’t know why. I do it the same way every single time, however, the results vary greatly. When it does turn out, it’s excellent, but, when it doesn’t, well, it’s glue.

I spent a good deal of my childhood watching my Granny cook. I know exactly what goes in sausage gravy, what the steps are to make it and what it should look like in the end. However, knowing all of these things does not guarantee success. At the moment when I realize the gravy is not going to turn out, I treat it like a puzzle. I just start throwing different bits and pieces in and trying to make it all fit together to replicate the image I’m working toward.

I Prefer Puzzles

In the end, the gravy didn’t turn out. I had added different seasonings, adjusted the flour to milk to water ratio, added more sausage. Nothing helped. I had a pan of well-seasoned, flour soup.

While this particular time didn’t get me to the end result I had hoped for, that doesn’t mean it failed. It didn’t fail because I tried. I tried to adjust pieces and put it all together in the right way.

I look at life in that same way. You need a specific set of ingredients or a set number of pieces to get to the end picture you desire. Sometimes you’ll have too many pieces, sometimes you’ll be missing pieces, sometimes you’ll have random, odd pieces from another puzzle mixed in. The secret is in knowing what you need compared to what you have and using that to determine how far you can get.

The most important thing is knowing what pieces you have or what ingredients you have. Once you know that, you can figure out how to put them together. I like sorting out the pieces. It is enjoyable to try to fit all the pieces together to develop a great result. You just need the right pieces or ingredients. I’m not always sure what pieces may be extra or missing, but I know I have a lot of pieces. Regardless of what I may or may not have, the pieces have always come together in the end to reveal a last second chance at creating something wonderful (if it turns out), or learning something new (if it doesn’t)! So yea. I love puzzles because I can’t make gravy.

I invite your opinions, sharing, personal examples so contact me here.