How long did the last supper take?

My mother-in-law once told me that when she quit smoking she worked puzzles to help her take her mind off not smoking. I can't say I'm giving up any bad habits but with Mark off on a much deserved surf trip, I realize I am trying to quit being so bored out of my mind! It's really quite pitiful and I should spend a moment or two figuring out how not to be so co-dependent but that is for another day. Don't get me wrong, a moody 13 year old and uncontrollable 16 year old will definitely keep one, how shall I put it...occupied, but I really miss my best friend. So, in his absence, I have been working on puzzles. We found a 500 piece of "To My One Desire" from a garage sale for $2 which it turns out was missing 3.5 pieces. (Yup, a piece was torn in half.) The kids and I skipped church, the street fair and even lunch to put those pieces together. It was sheer heaven! To spend, literally, 8 hours just inches from my teenagers (without screaming, crying or lecturing) while we came together in a common cause was absolutely the very best of days!

Eventually Monday came around without a garage sale in site so we ran to Target and purchased what has to be the most unbelievably difficult jigsaw puzzle known to man-a 2000 piece depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. I understand it took Leo over 3 years to paint the famous fresco. I'm not sure I will get my Target version done in a faster amount of time. However, if it means a few more stolen moments with the young ones, maybe I too, as Da Vinci is said to have, procrastinate and revel in the peace a puzzle can create.

Why?

Last Friday morning, while waiting to "close the deal" with an O.C. non-profit (that really does some wonderful work from gang prevention to sheltering homeless teens), I found myself flipping through a parenting guide. It was several pages with colorful cartoons and lots of really helpful information for parents of little people. It was brilliant! I had forgotten all the hidden dangers and possible death traps. With the turn of each page, I mentally checked off each tip. I had always checked the water temperature before putting the baby in the bathtub and only once or twice let a screaming boy out of the car seat while the car was moving. I realized I hadn't been too bad of a mother! They had survived without being mauled by a rabid dog or gotten their heads stuck in a rickety crib but then I got to the end of the booklet and was crushed, devastated, to be honest. It took me to maybe age 4 or 5. I scavenged the coffee table. Where was the "how to keep your teenager alive" booklet? Or the "how to keep yourself alive while raising a teenager" leaflet? No where. Nothing. Not even a post-it with suggested curfew times. Throw me a freaking bone people. What kind of an outfit was this? But, alas, this is where most parenting advice ends and here is where I begin. I'm committed to surviving these tumultuous teen years. So...that's why. And, no, I still don't know if I closed the deal.