There are people who casually buy puzzles… and then there are people – like me – who have very specific puzzle requirements.
My family enjoys putting together puzzles in the evening while we’re at the lake cabin. But, if a puzzle is going to make its way to the cabin, it has to meet the criteria: it must be either lake- or fishing-related, preferably 1000 pieces, and absolutely not one of those ordinary puzzles with ordinary scenery and ordinary themes. I want a puzzle with personality, with whimsy. I want a puzzle that makes you stop and say, “Well now… what is this?”
And that is exactly what happened to me today at the thrift store when I spotted a box on a shelf with the title Skyboat written on the side. Skyboat? The title was too intriguing – I had to investigate. As soon as I pulled the box down and looked at the image, I knew immediately – this was the puzzle. The perfect cabin puzzle.
To me, the artwork shows a man and a dog standing in a fishing boat – floating in the sky among the clouds and stars, peacefully fishing somewhere above the world below. The moment I saw this, my heart knew exactly what it meant. I see this image as my Dad and our family dog, Francee. Both have passed on now, but there they are (at least in my imagination) still together, still fishing, still floating somewhere among the stars.
My Dad loved fishing. Some of my favorite memories are of fishing with him out on the lake at the cabin. And, not only did he love fishing, we shared another love – that of the night sky. Dad taught me about constellations, stars, and the quiet magic of looking up on a clear night and realizing how big and beautiful the universe really is – that’s part of what made finding this puzzle feel oddly special. It just really fits.
Our cabin originally belonged to my Mom and Dad, and we’ve been going there since we were little kids. Every corner of that place holds memories of Mom and Dad – boat rides, campfires, fishing tales, laughter around the table, late nights under the stars, and all the little ordinary moments that somehow become the most important ones later in life.
Now, when my husband and I sit at the cabin table working on this wonderfully strange little puzzle, we’ll be thinking about my Dad, Francee, and all those stories that still seem to linger there.
Isn’t it cool how a thrift store puzzle can turn into something more than just a puzzle? If you look closely enough, even a fishing boat in the sky can feel a little like a message from heaven (thanks, Dad).
