Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Let go of my Lego!
Building Lego sets is a big part of my children’s growing up. Their father has thousands of pieces in plastic storage bins and when our grown children visit there is sometimes a revival of the glory days of building structures spontaneously. In the beginning of the pandemic, when we were truly isolating, I got a thought about getting Lego sets and Jan and I both spent hours carefully following the instructions and proudly displaying the finished product.
This is not an inexpensive hobby. But here’s my justification: a. we needed something to do with our hands to pass the time, b. my spatial recognition deficit could use the discipline, c. one would build and tear it down so the other could build, thus our fine motor dexterity was exercised. But the most compelling reason was that the Lego Master gene has passed down to our Grandson, Cameron. He will be five in a few weeks, but he can handle a 7 – 12 year old kit.
Therefore, his Lego Legacy, spawned during the early pandemic, will be of great benefit to him as there are at least 15 kits that will end up in his hands.
When they were here over the Fourth of July the Legos came out and Cameron and his Uncle Ted (an aficionado) spent hours constructing whatever struck their fancy. After the first session with his uncle, Cameron declared that Ted was his “best, best, best grown up friend!”. I marveled at Cameron’s laser focus that lasted a couple of hours as he quickly assembled a kit that took me two days.
Building with Legos is a lot like life. You start out with random bits, figure out how they go together, and make something out of them. The toughest Lego life lesson happens when I get cocky and hurry through a section of the instruction book. Invariably, a few steps more through the instructions and a mistake is revealed. This requires an embarrassed dismantling of the item and a do-over. Pay attention!
I will be making a quick in and out trip to Fair Lawn, New Jersey, for Cameron’s fifth birthday celebration. I literally don’t need a suitcase for such a short stay, but I will have a roller bag with several Lego cars waiting to be built. Last night as I was at the church of Cardinals baseball I brought up three kits from the basement and dismantled the cool cars and organized the pieces for Cameron’s enjoyment. All three of them are cars that you pull back and release and they go flying on the floor. I hope both boys enjoy playing with them.
My son, Ted, has taken Lego building to a new level. He doesn’t use Legos, but he follows the principle that something well-built brings joy. He bought an old Saab station wagon and over the last couple of years he has rebuilt it so that the only original parts left are the seats and the shell of the car. He is getting his PhD in Philosophy, which requires a lot of esoteric thinking. I believe that working with his hands gives him respite from the really heavy stuff that a Philosophy student has to absorb. My daughter, Jackie, takes pieces of cardboard and construction paper and builds stuff for whatever the birthday theme is for the boys. She can look at flat paper and envision it into a surprise for the Birthday Boy. I attribute the creativity of both children to their Lego upbringing.
As I sat there last night, dismantling a truck, I felt that call to build a new one. I’ll bet that since the pandemic there are some new kits that Cameron and Xander would enjoy. I’d better try one out for the sake of the grandchildren!