The joy of building

My daughter completed her first jigsaw puzzle yesterday. Nothing too complex. She is 4 and it was an 18 piece puzzle.

I asked her if she wanted help several times during the ordeal. There was a moment she got so frustrated she threw the pieces away, crossed her arms, and became super, SUPER cross. But if I tried to help her, she would push me away and get back to it. I was sad, but I was proud.

Finally she finished. She yelled for me to come look. I told her how happy I was and how proud of her I was.

The next few seconds were a few of the happiest seconds in my life.

She sat there, with a satisfied smile on her face, and just stared at the finished product.

Anyone who has ever built anything significant, or solved a sticky problem, or debugged a particularly complex bug knows this feeling.

Its a feeling of satisfaction. Its a quiet, poignant, reflection on "I did this".

It reminded me why I got into building things.