An Ode to Legos

An Ode to Legos

Legos. A long-time favorite toy of boys and girls spanning many generations. These little pieces of plastic are joined together to form different shapes and sizes, all the way from a simple house to the Millennium Falcon. They are little plastic joy-givers to so many children. And, children of all ages. They bring generations of moms, dads, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, together in the quest to build just the perfect shape. There are tournaments and contests to build the biggest, best creation out of these little tiny pieces of plastic. Oh, the lego. You bring joy to so many.

Oh, lego. During the day, you are these sweet, little innocent pieces of plastic that encourages imaginations to grow, creativity to abound, and dear lego, you have the magic ability to keep children entertained for hours on end. You can be a haven to weary, tired parents, knowing that their children are being safely entertained.

But dear lego, at night, you become an entirely different being. At night, you turn into this little plastic terror that threatens pain. You stalk the night, preying on adults who are attempting to quietly check on the kids or walk through a dark room, as to not disturb the sleeping little one who enjoyed your fun just hours earlier. You create a minefield. We know you’re there, but cringe with every step, not knowing when you will attack. We hold our breath, waiting, anticipating the step that will cause the mine to detonate. And the pain to ensue. And then, when that fatal step comes, we try so hard to hold the scream of pain in. Try to muffle it, breath out deeply, hoping no sound accompanies the breath. When we succeed, we take one final look at the sleeping little one to ensure they did not wake from their slumber. However, those times of holding the pain in are fleeting. More often than not, the surprise attack you just caused us, dear lego, leads to us screaming out in pain. You are no longer little plastic joy-givers. You are little plastic pain-inflictors that have awaken the little one from their slumber. And once that little one is awake, we know there will be no sleep for the adults. Thank you, dear lego.