LEGO Building is Not Part of My Programming

Let’s talk about LEGOs.

Earlier today my daughter finished a LEGO set she was given for the holiday. She has finished quite a bit of LEGOs since the holidays in fact. So has my wife. My son used to do them as well, and he was a fast worker when putting them all together. And these aren't the easy Duplo LEGOs. My wife and daughter both made a Dobby LEGO. My daughter finished a roller skate that can turn into three other things by putting the pieces in different spots. My wife likes the big bouquet of flowers. She has also done roses with our daughter. My son has put together multiple superhero figures. And my daughter is currently working on a sorting hat from "Harry Potter", which she is currently taking a break from because she says it's very hard. It is aged 18 plus on the box and she is only 9. My mom is also a good LEGO builder. She has picked it up since she retired and she has her stuff out in the open for all to see at her house. It's damn impressive and I feel like she has a newer, bigger one each time I see them. I say all of this because I'm jealous and envious that all these people in my family are so good at building LEGOs.

I must not have that part in my brain on how to build things. And, it's not just LEGOs. I struggle to build almost anything. I need to be talked through a building project step by step. I need the tiniest detail explained to me. My mother in law has helped me put stuff together in my home, and even by her admission it takes longer than normal because it takes me a good amount of time to fully put together what I'm being told. My brain must not function that way. But, I thought with LEGOs it would be better because they do have step by step instructions. They leave no stone unturned. They have pictures and everything. But, the few times I've sat down to do LEGO or LEGO like products, it ends with me being frustrated, saying I'll do it later and putting the box in storage to never be touched again. Last year I was gifted a Michigan Stadium LEGO. It looked cool and I thought, because of my love for Michigan football, I would be able to figure it out. Well, I got the base built and nothing more. Every time I looked at it I felt like I was reading a foreign language. I couldn't get the pieces to fit. I'd drop and almost break some of the smaller bits because I have monster hands. I would get frustrated and sweaty and that transformed into anger. I would say, to no one mind you, "why won't you fit!", and just walk away. I went at that stadium for about two hours before I wrapped it up and put it away. It now lives in our laundry room. But, when I see my wife and kids or my mom do these LEGOs, they seem calm and they whip right through them. The roller skate took less than an hour. The Dobby took about 90 minutes. The bouquets my wife makes seem to take half an hour. I've seen my mom put together multiple sets in the span of the 3 hours I go over to her house to have coffee with my dad. My brain just doesn't seem to work when it comes to building these things. I have tried to figure out why, but the reasons begin to pile up and that makes me frustrated.

I guess I'm going to have to be an admirer of the work the people in my family do because whatever function or skill is required to put together these sets is not something I'm equipped with. I'll just stick to watching people build. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Modern Summer Camp is Pretty Cool

What kinds of camps to the girls have across the lake?

My son is about to finish his first camp of the summer. He is currently in a Lego Star Wars camp. Next week he is going to a straight up Lego camp. Later in the summer, I’m sure he will do some sort of sports camp, most likely baseball. Summertime is camp time in my household.

I sat back and thought about when I was a kid, and I don’t remember having this many options, as far as summer camps go, back then. Don’t get me wrong, I went to camp, but it was either a week long, all day, all encompassing camp, or, a sports camp, either baseball or basketball. I loved these camps. When I was little I really liked the week long, all day camps. They were fun. I made a ton of summer friends, some of which turned into lifelong friends. I liked the games we played. The counselors, for the most part, were cool and fun. The field days, near the end of camp, were my favorite. Hell, I even enjoyed the gross peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and the orange drink. Those were fun too. The sports camps were fun too, but very different. These were more like weeks of 3 a day practices. What was so cool though, I got to stay in a dorm room, and hang out in dining halls and the main room of a dorm with friends and other athletes. These sports camps were also more of a, you may have a future in sports, so we are going to push you type thing. That being said, I loved these camps too. The fact that I got to play baseball or basketball for a week was awesome. I liked the drills. I liked the skills competitions we did. I liked learning from higher level coaches. I liked eating in dining halls. I liked feeling like a college student when I was a pre teen. It was all good. These were the 2 types of camps I had 20-25 years ago. Great, but not a whole lot of choice.

Now, that my son is of camp age, there are so many specialized camps. As I said, he is going to 2 different Lego camps. How crazy is that? I would have never imagined that as a kid. I mean, I went to specialized sports camp, but those have always been around. And, while researching camps for him this summer, the special Lego camps weren’t the only one. There are many different specialized camps for things like video games, computer stuff, other tech stuff, TV show things, multiple sports camps, I mean the list could go on and on and on. My son had a menu of camps to choose from. All of this is to say, I love that, as times have changed, and we have grown to have outside interests, so have summer camps. It is so cool that every type of kid has a camp that works, or that they’d love, especially for them. These Lego camps have been a blessing. My son gets to play with other like minded kids, playing and building Star Wars Legos, for 3 hours a day. And he loves it. He doesn’t want this camp to end. He is excited every morning. He’s pumped he gets to go to a different one next week. It is so cool to see my son so amped for something that wasn’t even on my radar as a kid, and this is a summer camp. In fact, since this camp started, I have gotten more into Legos.

Look, I know I’m not old, but I am getting older, and I love how there are so many options for my kids, and every kid now. This is a very cool thing, and I cannot wait to see what kind of camps my grandkids go to. Summer camps have changed, for the better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is looking forward to being a senior citizen, so his kids can send their dad to old man camp. Ty is really looking forward to the camp where you say the modern sports stars are not as good as the stars from his day. That will be awesome.

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