The Unexpected Romance of Lego Sets Leave a comment
During the Valentine’s Day–themed episode of ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Gregory gifts his girlfriend, Amber, a Lego flower bouquet as a result of she’s allergic to actual flowers. A romantic gesture gone flawed, Amber unenthusiastically asks whether or not the present is for her or her youngsters. Simultaneously, Gregory’s coworker, Janine, receives a Telfar handbag from her boyfriend, Maurice. When Janine errors it for a buying bag, Maurice explains that the purse is the present—a designer one. On the way in which out of faculty, Amber jealously eyes the Telfar bag, and Janine the Lego set.
Prior to assembly my boyfriend, I might’ve sided with Amber on this state of affairs. I’d written Lego blocks off a very long time in the past. As a child, I most popular Barbie dolls and Play-Doh. As a babysitting teenager, I noticed the blocks as a hazard. When I wasn’t dodging them in a playroom like a real-life model of Floor Is Lava, I used to be gently extracting them from a toddler’s little palms earlier than a bite-size piece made its means into their throat. I might’ve by no means thought-about it a enjoyable pastime, not to mention a romantic present thought.
But as an grownup, I stand corrected. What began as a random journey to the Lego retailer with my associate a pair of years in the past ended with a newfound love and appreciation for these tiny colourful blocks. More importantly, it is grow to be a enjoyable and distinctive means for us to bond. Suddenly, I too was enviously eyeing the Lego flower bouquet on my TV and dropping refined hints to my boyfriend.
Organized Chaos
When my boyfriend first steered we try the Lego Store on a wet Sunday afternoon, I figured it would be a pleasant break from being holed up in my residence all weekend. We walked into the shop, browsed the partitions lined with Lego units, and walked out with the New York City Architecture Set. Once we obtained again to my residence, I used to be keen to begin constructing, however I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I wasn’t barely nervous.
As somebody with each ADHD and a horrible case of perfectionism, I wrestle to take pleasure in and decide to artistic hobbies. Over the years, I’ve collected coloring books, bins of crayons, knitting needles, and paintbrushes, all of which stay untouched. Whenever I try to ease my mind with some arts and crafts, I’m so overwhelmed by the strain to verify it comes out properly that I find yourself abandoning the undertaking altogether.
But since constructing Lego units was an exercise my boyfriend had wished to attempt collectively for some time, I wished to provide it a shot. We unboxed the set, organized every pack of bricks chronologically, opened the instruction guide, and obtained began—matching every bit to the diagram on the web page and following the steps. A couple of hours later, we clicked the final brick into place and stared proudly at our new creation.
As we started to throw out completely different concepts on the place we’d place it, I felt like I’d snapped out of a trance state. For the primary time shortly, I managed to calm the anxious ideas in my mind and give attention to what was in entrance of me with out taking a number of breaks or saving it for later (realizing I’d by no means truly get again to it). “This is how people must feel after they meditate,” I mentioned to him. “I told you so,” he quipped. I wished to march proper again into the Lego Store and purchase one other set.
