Pieces of childhoodLittle Man has been having a few issues at school as of late. An incompetent teacher with the organizational skills of a headless chicken. Work that's frankly waaay too advanced for 75% of the class. And classmates who've taken to taunting him so as to provoke a reaction that usually gets him into trouble.
Sigh. It's tough being seven.
At a meeting between Dearest Wife, myself, Mrs Headless Chicken and The School Principal (who is an awesome steel fist in a velvet glove), it came out that Little Man really enjoys playing with the class supply of Lego. So that got me thinking...
Back at home, I stood on my tippy-tip-toes and pulled down a large, dusty plastic bag from our bedroom closet. I called out to Little Man that he should shut his eyes tight, then I went to the playroom where he was desperately trying not to peek. I gave him the bag, and let him look. His eyes grew wide...
Inside was my entire childhood collection of Lego, a multicoloured jumble of plastic bricks 'n' bits with which I used to construct entire universes. I had brought the whole lot over to Vancouver from New York after years of nagging from Mother to "deal with my stuff in the basement." I had been long intending to pass it on to Little Man, but the right moment had never presented itself. Until now.
We immediately embarked on building a police station, complete with windows, swingy doors, and Lego homunculi. As I rummaged through the bag, looking for THAT precise piece, I began to find bits of unexpected flotsam from my childhood.
A quiver from a Playmobil Indian.
A wooden Tinkertoy connector.
A skipole from a GI Joe arctic warfare set.
A rocket from a James Bond "The Spy Who Loved Me" Lotus Esprit Sportscar Submarine.
Tokens from a London Underground boardgame.
Each unexpected artefact brought with it a concentrated shot of memories, nostalgia, and vivid feelings. It was all actually a bit disconcerting. Thank goodness I had Little Man and a half-built police station to keep me anchored.
Pianosaurus - A Funny Thing Happened On The way To The Toystore (buy here or e-here)
The Maccabees - Lego (buy here)
Posts
Stumble It!
6 comments:
We had the same experience in our household, c'ept it was My Little Pony, not Lego X
And us, with Lego. Look, you had the wheels with the tyres just like I did.
Word verif: fulavit - ain't we just.
My 6 year old is right into lego at the moment.
I had the same experience a couple of years ago when he started wanting star wars figures. My dad insisted that all of mine and my brother's were up in the loft at my parents house, sadly only 2, Han Solo and Boba Fett. But he did find a couple of action men sans hands etc and a few other things that brought back memories. I had a lump in throat and something in my eye.
LEGO is the best. My boys' Xmas lists are pretty much nothing but LEGO and Nerf guns. Sigh. I was visiting my brother-in-law and his wife over Thanksgiving and their son, who will turn 5 at the end of this month, effortlessly puts together LEGO sets that are designed for 15 year olds. Planes, helicopters, spaceships, you name it. My boys--6 and 8--just shook their heads, open mouthed. He does it faster than I can.
Our six year old is also a huge Lego fan. It keeps him occupied for hour on end.
Try building an Eiffel Tower - I still remember the one my dear Pa made (ever the engineer).
Post a Comment