I raced into motherhood like I race into many things: eyes closed, impatiently, blindly believing (faithfully) that life has a way of always working out as it should. We were only married a few months when two lines appeared on a white stick. This conception was effortless, the labour was not, and the first year of his life the hardest thing I have ever done. Sleep-deprived, hungry and out of my mind with the anxiety of Postpartum Depression, well you can read about that here.
But as I type this he’s making his brother laugh ferociously in their shared bedroom, at bedtime and as they giggle through their secrets. His report card allows his teacher to glow through black ink and at just about eight years old he’s taken on his first job. He’s well on his way to ruling the world, with his patient eyes and kind caring heart.
Ok, I’m biased. But I think he is a pretty swell kid.
He took up with LEGO years ago, and it has proven to be one screen-less activity that he can commit to without other human involvement (typical first child, he needs a companion for EVERYTHING). He can sit, build and build. He loves to follow the instructions, to go off script and build out of his mind and to innovate with things that can boom and blast. It’s pretty neat to watch the imaginative wheels turn and to see simple primary coloured bricks turn into something else.
Remember the moments when you are an angry parent because something isn’t going your way. If you just hear mommy spoken one more time you might just explored because all day you have hardly managed to wee by yourself without a shrillish voice bellowing you to solve some petty problem or another (or get more snacks)…. I was at the end of that rope one night.
When my oldest came into the kitchen (I heard his feet, I may have tightened a little in that “if he asks me for one more thing” kinda way) and then he dropped it on me “Here Mom. This is for you.”
Ya, this….
He built a freakin heart out of LEGO and made a card for me for Mother’s Day!
I simply love him to BITS.
But we need these reminders sometimes, don’t we? When we are stressing about the laundry, client deadlines and WHY on earth we thought swimming and art class would be ok in one day. We need these pangs to our heart to remind us of that joy when we looked at those two pink lines on that pee soaked window and thought, Oh My God…. What adventures are here now? We have created life. Yes, a life that cries when he doesn’t get what he wants. A life that once felt offended by a green cup. But no matter how irrational and infuriating they are sometimes (March break …. hello) they are living into their one-day grown-up bodies that will bring joy into the lives of others too, leaving their most amazing mark.
Maybe my boy will make his world with the same thoughtfulness with which he crafts red hearts out of LEGO so he can give his mom a gift (and one that makes her cry standing in a sticky kitchen suddenly grateful for the profound joy she’s been given.
He spent his March break with a new LEGO set, and following his favourite characters on LEGO Super Heroes.
Does your child love LEGO too? Keep her or his creativity going with these NETFLIX titles:
LEGO Friends: The Power of Friendship
Disclaimer: We are part of the Netflix #streamteam and as such receive perks, including free NETFLIX service, for posts like these where I write about how much we really do enjoy the service as a family. I was thrilled when they asked if I’d write about LEGO on NETFLIX this month because the story of my son and his heart out of LEGO is a favourite.
Feature post photo courtesy of FreeImages.com/ Santiago Conejo













Calvin F. says
Neat stuff|~