Smarty Pants

Today is a momentous occasion and, for once, it has nothing to do with countdowns, checklists, gowns or graduation. This is, in fact, an accomplishment all my own. This morning, for the first time ever, I completely completed the New York Times Sunday crossword.

I've enjoyed the challenge of crosswords for as long as I can remember. My grandma always worked them, and I remember sitting beside her on the couch trying my best to help her with the "Word Jumble" in the daily paper. In college, I would do my best with the Merl Reagle crossword, with spotty success, looking only briefly at the more difficult Will Shortz offering on the opposite page of the Tribune. But for the last four or five years, I've diligently tried my hand at the Sunday New York Times version. Some weeks are better than others, and I have come painfully close a few times but, up until today, I have never been able to completely finish a large grid.

There are some rules to my game: No help from anywhere, which means no dictionary, no Google, no husband. He's not allowed to fiddle with the crossword or call out any answers. And there's no time limit, meaning I sometimes work on the puzzle through the week until the next Sunday's arrives. Also, I don't do weekday puzzles, only Sunday.

And so, today, finally! I completed a full puzzle. I could hardly believe it when I filled in the last letter, I looked over the page again and again thinking there must be one or two clues I'd missed. But no, I had figured out every last one. What a long-awaited accomplishment this is!

Before it's taped to the fridge, here's the prize puzzle:

And its closeup: