Living Across and Down…

I have loved doing crossword puzzles for as long as I can remember. There’s something comforting about being able to complete something from start to finish with everything fitting into tiny boxes. I think crossword puzzles are a metaphor for life in many ways where each answer builds upon the last, and every word connects to others in a delicate web of meaning. At times, you’re given a clue so vague it could be anything, while other times, the answer stares you in the face, waiting only for you to see it. There are stretches that feel like progress, where we confidently fill in each blank. In other stretches, we struggle over one square, feeling stuck. Sometimes you find you’ve written the wrong thing, and you must erase and start over, hoping the right word will appear.

The puzzle of life teaches patience; it reminds us that each guess, each attempt, reveals something more about the whole picture. It’s in the mix of certainty and mystery, in the joy of small victories and the frustration of being stumped, that we come to understand that life isn’t always about finishing with every square filled; it’s about the journey of figuring it all out, one clue at a time. Sometimes, we might need to ask someone if they know the answer or look up a helpful hint. I find crossword puzzles to be a lot more fun when you give multiple people the clue and see how each person interprets the meaning.

We need each other to help fill voids and to reshape the way we think about things sometimes. Whenever I’ve felt stuck or clueless as to what’s next on this journey with Victoria, you all have been there to listen and help me get my mindset back on track. This journey has been a weekend puzzle, the hardest of all, and I could not have made it this far without your encouragement and positivity.

Victoria begins proton therapy late next week, meaning we won’t be back home until mid-late January. Because I was stuck on the idea of being home by Christmas, this curveball hit me hard. However, if being stuck in this one space for a while ultimately means getting the rest of the puzzle right, then we’ll work on it every day until it’s complete and try to enjoy the journey along the way.