Lincoln Logs

The new subfloor waiting for 4x8 plywood panels

Note to all my Lego loving friends (or parents of Lego lovers) - playing with Legos is a skill that will take you far. As I watch the new rooms being built, it looks to me like one giant game of building blocks. First you lay the foundation, then on top of that you put the floor joists, followed by subfloor, then beams, then wall, then plaster, and so on. I remember playing with Legos as a child, but I would always try to do my own thing and could never seem to follow the plans. Now I realize how important it is to be able to read and follow directions for building, because now the directions are the ones that tell the builder how to make sure we don't fall through the floor onto the dirt below, or, more importantly, how to make sure the new roof doesn't fall on our heads!

This section has extra pieces because
this is where the bathtub and
toilet are going (a lot of extra weight!)

When Grace was born, we made sure she brought home a present for Julia when we all came home from the hospital together. Grace gave her new big sister a set of building blocks that looked like giant Legos. If you're a parent, you know exactly which ones I'm talking about. Julia was so excited, and she thought it was fun that her baby sister had a present for her (bribes can sometimes work out perfectly). She used to put them together and try to build the highest wall she possibly could, then she'd knock it down and laugh and laugh. Now I'm trying to get her interested in watching this "real" building process to see if there's any latent interest left over from those building block days.

When she was a little older, we bought a kit of Lincoln Logs and often Darryl and I would play with it for hours (the girls would sometimes be allowed to join in too). The logs would fit together just so - you had to get them in the precise spot or the building would fall down, but once you were in a rhythm it all came together so neatly and quickly. I'm reminded of that game as I'm watching the new building take shape. A process that I thought would be so complicated is actually quite simple once you understand how it all fits together. So pull those old Lego boxes out of the closet or fit the Lincoln Logs together and start building. It's never too late to learn a new trade.