During the Valentine’s Day–themed episode of ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Gregory gifts his girlfriend, Amber, a Lego flower bouquet as a result of she’s allergic to actual flowers. A romantic gesture gone mistaken, Amber unenthusiastically asks whether or not the present is for her or her youngsters. Simultaneously, Gregory’s coworker, Janine, receives a Telfar handbag from her boyfriend, Maurice. When Janine errors it for a purchasing bag, Maurice explains that the purse is the present—a designer one. On the best way out of college, Amber jealously eyes the Telfar bag, and Janine the Lego set.

Prior to assembly my boyfriend, I’d’ve sided with Amber on this state of affairs. I’d written Lego blocks off a very long time in the past. As a child, I most well-liked Barbie dolls and Play-Doh. As a babysitting teenager, I noticed the blocks as a hazard. When I wasn’t dodging them in a playroom like a real-life model of Floor Is Lava, I used to be gently extracting them from a toddler’s little fingers earlier than a bite-size piece made its means into their throat. I’d’ve by no means thought of it a enjoyable pastime, not to mention a romantic present concept.

But as an grownup, I stand corrected. What began as a random journey to the Lego retailer with my accomplice a few years in the past ended with a newfound love and appreciation for these tiny colourful blocks. More importantly, it is change into a enjoyable and distinctive means for us to bond. Suddenly, I too was enviously eyeing the Lego flower bouquet on my TV and dropping delicate hints to my boyfriend.

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Organized Chaos

When my boyfriend first prompt we take a look at the Lego Store on a wet Sunday afternoon, I figured it might be a pleasant break from being holed up in my house all weekend. We walked into the shop, browsed the partitions lined with Lego units, and walked out with the New York City Architecture Set. Once we received again to my house, I used to be keen to start out constructing, however I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I wasn’t barely nervous.

As somebody with each ADHD and a horrible case of perfectionism, I battle to get pleasure from and decide to artistic hobbies. Over the years, I’ve collected coloring books, containers of crayons, knitting needles, and paintbrushes, all of which stay untouched. Whenever I try to ease my mind with some arts and crafts, I’m so overwhelmed by the strain to verify it comes out nicely that I find yourself abandoning the venture altogether.

But since constructing Lego units was an exercise my boyfriend had needed to attempt collectively for some time, I needed to present it a shot. We unboxed the set, organized every pack of bricks chronologically, opened the instruction handbook, and received began—matching every bit to the diagram on the web page and following the steps. A couple of hours later, we clicked the final brick into place and stared proudly at our new creation.

As we started to throw out completely different concepts on the place we would place it, I felt like I’d snapped out of a trance state. For the primary time shortly, I managed to calm the anxious ideas in my mind and give attention to what was in entrance of me with out taking a number of breaks or saving it for later (figuring out I’d by no means truly get again to it). “This is how people must feel after they meditate,” I mentioned to him. “I told you so,” he quipped. I needed to march proper again into the Lego Store and purchase one other set.