I only just discovered Lego. Seen it. But never played with it. Never owned any as a kid. In fact, I don’t remember having many store-bought toys. Maybe, some marbles and a ball. What I played with were mostly bespoke toys. Thanks to my eldest brother. He used to build things with whatever was available. For instance, he built a box-cart with wheels that one small person could sit in while the other pushed. A few 2×4 planks of wood and wheels from a discarded tricycle. Voila, and we had ourselves a mobile cart. I remember it gave us hours of joy, laughter, and some injury. A story for another day.

Coming back to these marvel of interlocking bricks and modular pieces of sheer genius. I was and am overwhelmed by the brilliance of Lego. My husband played with Lego and some other economical versions of building blocks when he was young. A few months ago, his interest got piqued when he received a Lego Technic BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorbike set as a gift from a colleague. He built his Lego motorbike over a weekend. With every free moment he had. And, with childlike excitement and exuberance. To Lego’s credit, the bike looked almost real. It was sturdy, handsome and moved.

He then bought a Lego Creator Downtown Diner set. All I heard was clicks and clacks from then on. To me it sounded like mahjong chips being vigorously shuffled about. He was in construction mode. I was impressed by what he created. Ice cream and cakes for me – things that he knew I would like. I did. But I was still not interested enough to give Lego a go. That was until he invited me to build the roof of the diner. That was it. I was hooked.

Like I said I have never played with Lego ever before. I didn’t know whether I would like it or even know how to play with it. With the parts that made up the roof and manual, I went to ‘work.’ The manual was comprehensive and instructive. It guided me every step of the way. Each piece interlocked with another piece that connected to other pieces. As I saw how parts of the roof slowly took shape, I wanted to get it done so I could see the final product.

I especially liked building the smooth curved roof structure, the radio antenna, the skylight and roofline. I did not work with the standard 1×2 or 2×4 or 2×8 Lego bricks with studs and tubes that I have seen in shops. Instead I graduated straight to plates and clips that I didn’t know existed. Like the curved white roof, the decorative roofline was interesting to build. In fact, it reminded me of old Roman buildings.  The instruction was to use the 1×2 tiles with handles and place them over click hinges that stuck out from 1×4 hinge plates [1]. Also a treat was the skylight that had three window panes that could be closed or vented for air. How great is that?  So exciting. I was a Lego virgin, after all.

On a roll, I wanted to build more stuff. Next came the upper half of the full-height curved teal and pink (underlay) coloured arch, which for some reason reminded me of the art-deco influenced Chrysler Building in New York. Then it was the pink Cadillac. Having never built any whole structure of any kind before, putting together my first car was a journey of discovery. Headlights, windshields, mud guards, headrests, seats, doors, steering wheel, gear and wheels. I had built a car single-handedly. To boot, I sat the Elvis-like minifigure with his red guitar in the front seat. I was ecstatic.

The Lego Creator Downtown Diner comes with 2,480 pieces. Although I only did the roof, a small part of the arch and the pink Cadillac, I felt a great sense of achievement. It felt good to use my hands. It felt good to learn a few lessons from Lego.

Danish made Lego means “Play Well.” I am learning to read and follow instructions carefully. I am learning that it’s ok to dismantle pieces and parts because I missed a step and/or read the guide incorrectly. I am learning to have fun. I am learning that it’s never too old to play Lego. I am learning that I can build whatever I can imagine with the right Lego pieces. I am playing, and I am playing well.  My next construction will be the Corner Garage. 2569 pieces. Nice.