I’m waiting for Mark to shower and get ready to head to the hospital.  We will trek up to the ICU with our family who have gathered to give strength to each other and by way of prayers, osmosis or whatever you believe in, to our loved one.  Such are the twists and turns that change plans and lives in moments. 

Fearlessly doing the crossword in ink shows a confidence that you know what you’re doing, that you have confidence in your decisions and plans and that you won’t need or want to make any changes.

Not so easy in real life. I spent hours on the phone and several days planning an escape trip to Maui for next week.  With that goes the anticipation and excitement that travel gives me but I needed to erase that across and down in the puzzle to exchange it for being where I need to be.  And the squares are open now for adventure to be filled in later when the clues match the answers.

Every one of us at the hospital and the sister stuck in the storms in southern California when she wants to be here, has had to erase the ink answers we so confidently made in the crossword puzzles of our days.

The thing is that with crosswords, the clue may seem to be clear as day – the answer can only be “XYZ” but when it doesn’t fit after all;  after you try to massage the other answers around it to stubbornly make it fit, you realize that doing the crossword in ink doesn’t mean you won’t need to change the answers.