Throughout 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 incorrect, Amber unenthusiastically asks whether or not the reward is for her or her children. Concurrently, Gregory’s coworker, Janine, receives a Telfar handbag from her boyfriend, Maurice. When Janine errors it for a purchasing bag, Maurice explains that the purse is the reward—a designer one. On the way in which out of college, Amber jealously eyes the Telfar bag, and Janine the Lego set.
Previous to assembly my boyfriend, I’d’ve sided with Amber on this state of affairs. I might 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. Once I wasn’t dodging them in a playroom like a real-life model of Ground Is Lava, I used to be gently extracting them from a toddler’s little palms earlier than a bite-size piece made its manner into their throat. I’d’ve by no means thought of it a enjoyable pastime, not to mention a romantic reward concept.
However as an grownup, I stand corrected. What began as a random journey to the Lego retailer with my associate a few years in the past ended with a newfound love and appreciation for these tiny colourful blocks. Extra importantly, it is change into a enjoyable and distinctive manner for us to bond. Instantly, 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 take a look at the Lego Retailer on a wet Sunday afternoon, I figured it might be a pleasant break from being holed up in my condo all weekend. We walked into the shop, browsed the partitions lined with Lego units, and walked out with the New York City Architecture Set. As soon as we acquired again to my condo, I used to be keen to begin constructing, however I might be mendacity if I stated I wasn’t barely nervous.
As somebody with each ADHD and a horrible case of perfectionism, I battle to take pleasure in and decide to artistic hobbies. Over time, I’ve collected coloring books, bins of crayons, knitting needles, and paintbrushes, all of which stay untouched. At any time when I try to ease my mind with some arts and crafts, I am so overwhelmed by the stress to ensure it comes out effectively that I find yourself abandoning the mission altogether.
However since constructing Lego units was an exercise my boyfriend had wished to attempt collectively for some time, I wished to present it a shot. We unboxed the set, organized every pack of bricks chronologically, opened the instruction handbook, and acquired began—matching every bit to the diagram on the web page and following the steps. Just a few hours later, we clicked the final brick into place and stared proudly at our new creation.
As we started to throw out totally different concepts on the place we would 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 concentrate on what was in entrance of me with out taking a number of breaks or saving it for later (figuring out I might by no means really get again to it). “That is how individuals should really feel after they meditate,” I stated to him. “I instructed you so,” he quipped. I wished to march proper again into the Lego Retailer and purchase one other set.
