As a child, LEGO was a major existence of my life. Between the ages of 3 and 14, I could be found laying on the floor with a massive scene – all rendered in rainbow-colored plastic bricks – set out before me.
I didn’t know the words at the time, but I have aphantasia. I don’t see pictures in my head and I don’t form visual memories. So the LEGO bricks and minifigures were my imagination. I would create whole scenes and tell myself a story of what was going on – adjusting the figures and scene as needed to keep up with the story. Like kinesthetic story illustrations.
I got older and involved in music and sports and dating, but still loved LEGO, even if I didn’t have the time to play with them like I always had. In time, my LEGO collection was passed on, along with my GI Joe and Masters of the Universe dolls, to my 4 beautiful children. And when I was separated from them (the children) by divorce, I also lost a lifetime of LEGO.
At the same time, Sesame Street has long, long been one of my favorites. I love Ernie and Big Bird and Snuffy. My first dog (I was 3) was named Barkley.
So when my partner surprised me with a late, late birthday present to restart my collection, and it was Sesame Street LEGO. And it is, I think, the biggest set I have ever had (maybe the pirate ship or the space shuttle or one of the castles was bigger, but I don’t think so).
The set has stickers. I hate when sets have stickers. I’ve always had shaky hands and I never get them on as perfectly as I want. So maybe that’s a strike against the set.
I built the first part, bag 1, tonight. There are already so many clever features that bring back tons of memories. I will post more about the set as I finish more.
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