I have amassed a large, varied, and frankly, fabulous, Lego collection over the years. I've played with them from the age of 7 or so on, and never stopped.
Last month I bequeathed them to the girls. It wasn't easy. I've been holding out, because I didn't want them lost, broken, or scattered all over the house to be painfully stepped on at 2 a.m. whilst making your way to the bathroom. But they're old enough now. I made them take blood oaths to put all the Legos in the box when they're done, and put away the box, and they're been faithfully following my instructions. I've held a few of my best creations back: my space lobster, my submarine, my underwater mining tractor. Because they're just too damn cool. But the rest of them belong to the girls now.
The nature of Lego has changed over the years. You used to only be able to get sets of blocks with no specific purpose. You built whatever you wanted. Most of the Legos these days are kits with a specific thing in mind--a Stars Wars spaceship, a pirate ship--and included in the kit are step-by-step instructions on how to build it. It'd be easy to rail against the lack of creativity involved with including instructions in Legos. But disingenuous. Because a kid might build it according to the instructions the first time, but then they're going to rip it apart and build whatever they want. Because that is the nature of kids.
And that is the nature of Lego.
3 comments:
I have a pretty big collection of Lego in the basement. My older son was the main enthusiast. I have no intention of getting rid of it. One day there'll be grandchildren and they'll create magic with their dad's or uncle's collections.
Your kidlets clearly understand how important your Lego was/is to you and how special they must be, for you to trust them with it. That's a very valuable gift. Enjoy their creations. :)
Amen.
Glad that you passed the love along; I'm sure the girls will have years of enjoyment with those, just like you did.
I'm glad that you didn't just go out and buy new ones for them.
You are a great dad. Have I said that yet?
You are.
Happy Star Wars Day. ;o)
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
Thanks for the kind words, Hil. I like the idea that Legos can be passed down from generation to generation. And that they last for decades! Way more practical than some dusty heirloom that gets looked at but never touched.
Aaah, you're sweet to say so, Scarlett. How was your trip out of town with Mr. Brown? Did you come back with Mr. Black? (sorry, I read Hop On Pop like once a week - it's permanently stuck in my head, I fear).
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