LIGHTHOUSE

The sets were built and all of the designs in the booklet which came with the medium Lego brick box were constructed as well. The last design being a yellow car Sage built for me. 'It's Mama's car!' he exclaimed. My son even went so far as to take apart the engine of the train he and his sister built yesterday, for the sole purpose of rebuilding it.

For the third day in a row now, both Cinnamon and Sage were preoccupied with building something with the bricks as they had already exhausted the two sets they received. They went through the booklet to see if they had left anything unbuilt. What surprised me most was Cinnamon's interest in the construction.

Sage has always been interested in building with Lego but even I thought his attention would have turned back to his puzzle. It did not, even when I stood next to him this morning fitting a few more pieces to the puzzle. He would look up and say 'That's good, mama', then continue with his car.

As soon as they awoke this morning, the argument started as to who would get to build first. 'It's my turn' I would hear one of them exclaim throughout the morning, countered by 'No! It's my turn...'. I truly believed they would have been bored of building by now. My belief was incorrect.

I wondered what else I could give them on such short notice. Then I remembered the other set I had. The lighthouse. The set I got as a present. Christmas, I believe. Or it could have been my birthday. I remember it sitting on the top shelf of the small closet in my study at the old place for two or three years. The box never opened. The set never built.

Into the cold garage I ventured in search of it. I knew where it was amongst the sea of boxes still packed, waiting for the next move later this spring. I walked back into the house and handed the Lego Creator Lighthouse Island box to the children. Their faces expressed sheer joy as they now had something else to keep them busy today.

I heard them opening one plastic bag of bricks after another and dumping their contents on the table. Sage was excited about the speedboat and they set about to build it first. I let them know with this set they can build three different models, but only one at a time since it was a 3-in-1 set. Sage was fascinated most with the light brick and wondered how it turned on.

After the speedboat was constructed, Sage started building the seafood restaurant. At one point he called me over as he needed help putting a piece together which kept falling. I wondered why it wasn't sturdy until I looked back a few pages in the instruction booklet and noticed he had constructed the entire base incorrectly. He had reversed the two sides and seemed to have lost focus on where he left off. I took all of it apart and started over.

My reason for letting the children work on the set on their own was not due to my refusal to help. Quite the opposite. Having helped Sage rebuild the base of the restaurant, I found myself wanting to continue without him. He finally came over to me and said he wanted to put the small green plates on top of the foundation so I had to stop before I finished the entire set myself. Tomorrow I will stay away, but will be watching them and marveling at their perseverance.