My oldest has an incessant need to build. Couch cushions, recyclables, boxes and of course, Lego’s — he builds with them all. He quickly casts a vision and begins frenetically connecting the pieces. In his excitement, he also becomes agitated. We have a hard time connecting with him when he’s busy trying to connect his brain’s vision to his hand’s work. 

The other day, during school break, he had quiet time in his room, alone. He decided to do a Lego set. I wanted to discourage the idea. I envisioned being called in every few seconds to a frustrated boy who needed help. I held my tongue, made sure he had scissors to open the new bags and left the room. 

He called me in after a glorious silent respite in my home. He needed brief assistance, and promptly told me to leave. At the end of his hour of quiet time, he’d connected all the pieces, completing the Lego set. 

When things go right with his building, I’m reminded of how much joy connection brings. Bringing things or people together; building them into something greater because of the connection. I’m also reminded that this can be a very frustrating process — it often doesn’t go the way we’ve planned, our vision isn’t fully realized, some pieces just don’t seem to connect.

But Bronson’s face at the end of the hour is a great testament to the joy connection brings. When we put in the work to create connections, the results make it all worth it.  

Five minutes of free write on a given one-word prompt with Five Minute Friday. See more linked posts here.