I get to play again

Published 1:11 pm Wednesday, October 22, 2008

By Staff
In six months of motherhood, I have found innumerable joys, and every single one involves a sweet smile and a pair of big blue eyes.
Until last week, when I dug a box of LEGO Duplo blocks out of the closet for my son to play with. Of course, he's still a bit young for the colorful plastic building blocks. His idea of a good time is to chew on one until he drops it, at which time he simply finds another. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I, on the other hand, sat right next to him and built an airplane, a fireplace, a car, and some sort of red and yellow sculpture, all within a matter of minutes. By the end of our playtime session, I couldn't remember what I had been stressed about that day at work.
That's one of the little-known joys of parenting: You get to play with toys again.
When I was a child, LEGOs were right up there with Barbie and the Big Wheel in the hierarchy of favorite toys. On one of the best days of my youth, my brother (who happens to be my son's namesake) handed down his giant box of LEGOs to me. It was as grand a gesture as I had experienced in my seven or so years.
Naming my son after him was the least I could do.
I did a little research on the LEGO company, and since the little plastic interlocking bricks came on the market in 1958, enough LEGOs have been manufactured to give each of the world's 6 billion people an average of 62 LEGOs. I guess my giant box of them was more than my fair share.
Some more facts about my favorite toy: