A young womans father died. As sad as she was, it was heartbreaking to watch her mother grieve. It was also heartbreaking, to think of her alone in the house each night by herself. In the days after the father had moved on, to the next adventure she would sit with her mother and work on puzzles together. Visiting every night each sitting focusing on the table and the puzzle pieces.
One night not long after the father had passed away they finished a puzzle but couldn’t find that one last piece that belonged in the center. It was bittersweet because it reminded them both of their loved one. He was the kind of guy that could find things that no one else could find. For example, a letter or keys or a coin. He was just that kind of guy.
As it was time to leave, they decided to look for the puzzle piece tomorrow. The next day she went to work and after work stopped by her mom’s house just to check in and her mother was sitting – bewildered. She told her she had found the missing puzzle piece sitting on the middle of the dining room table that morning. This made no sense because they had both sat at that table before working on the puzzle and had eaten a meal on the table and then cleaned it together. They would have certainly seen a puzzle piece sitting in the middle of the table.
It was a small gesture but it brought comfort and relief. From that point on, the mother’s grief seemed to lift somewhat, and the daughter no longer felt compelled to watch over her so closely. After all, her father had not left her mother quite as alone as she had once thought.
This is a phenomenon that happens around death especially if it is someone that we care about. Words can’t describe how comforting it is when these unexplainable and uniquely personal events happen when we’re grieving.
