Oh for the Love of Legos

You all know I get a ton of emails and private messages on Facebook, and a whole lot of those notes contain questions. Most of the questions are serious in nature ... some are very, very, very serious questions for which I have no answers. This week, however, I can answer one of the most asked questions in regard to my previous post ... why did I spend 5 1/2 hours last Sunday washing thousands of Legos? The short answer is because I really am insane, and my Lego-washing marathon completely proves that to be true. The long answer is because I love my kids and my grandkids. Technically, my short answer is longer than my long answer I suppose. But my long answer carries with it the need for further explanation whereas my short answer has been proven to be accurate a million times over in the last few years. 

For the last 10 plus years or longer, my basement has housed Rubbermaid containers filled with stuffed animals, dolls, GI Joes, Star Wars figures and whatever you call those things they fly through space in, Precious Moments figurines, baseball cards and last but far from least ... Legos. Before I get a ton of emails asking me why I didn't send all of their childhood belongings along with my children when they moved out, obviously you either don't have children or your children haven't left home yet. Of course I tried to get them to take their stuff when they moved out of my house ... and I tried to get them to take it the year after they moved and the year after that and the year after that ... of course I did ... geez.

When my son Matt asked a couple of weeks ago if I would drag the oversized (and I do mean oversized) Rubbermaid container that housed the Legos upstairs so he could "look through them" on Skype and choose some for me to send to C.J. and Lou Lou, I said, "Sure, honey ... no problem." I'm sure it's a good thing that the passage of time is erasing certain things from my memory, but I sure wish I would have remembered just how many Legos were in that stupid container before I agreed to honor my son's request. I knew I was in trouble the minute I unsnapped the lid ... big, big, big trouble. Ten years in a basement, even in a Rubbermaid container, meant a decade of dust and dirt and shells of those little roly-poly creatures ... gross, gross, gross ... which in turn meant I had to clean the Legos before I could spread them out so that Matt could see them.

While it would have been so much easier to toss all of the 10 million little pieces into my tub and wash them all at once, I was terrified that one little Lego hand or Lego head or Lego pirate coin or Lego whatever would slip into the drain and end up costing me thousands of dollars that I don't have. No, really ... that's exactly where my mind went. So ... I decided my only option was to wash the 50 million Legos (yes, they multiplied in number every single time I looked at them) in my kitchen sink because should one of the renegade Legos end up in that drain, it would be more manageable. I seriously stood there in my kitchen and thought, "Well, if I stop up the kitchen sink with Legos, I have two other sinks I can use. If I stop up the tub, I won't be able to take a shower and then I'm screwed." No, really ... that's exactly where my mind went. Remember my short answer above? Just more proof as to the validity of my insanity defense.

During my 5 1/2 hours of quality bonding time spent with the Legos on Sunday, one thought kept pounding in my brain until it finally worked its way into my heart ... love isn't in the saying, love is in the doing. I'm not saying you shouldn't tell the people you love that you love them, not at all ... every single person in the world needs to hear they are loved and they need to hear it a whole, whole, whole lot. But saying I love my kids or my granddaughters or my extended family or my friends isn't enough ... it's really, really important, but only saying I love them without demonstrating my love for them just isn't enough. Love is so much more than in the saying ... love is in the doing.

Love is taking care of someone when they are sick ... putting cold rags on their neck when they have a fever, patting their back when they're puking, going to the pharmacy at 1 a.m. to pick up their prescription. Love is making time in your busy day to listen to a friend who needs to talk. Love is going to the doctor with someone who lives alone. Love is buying groceries for your elderly parents and cooking meals for them. Love is taking the time to send a card or email or text to say you care. Love is holding a crying baby after you've had a long day at work. Love is sending a note to someone who is discouraged or lonely. Love is picking up the phone and making the call. Love is surprising your spouse or partner with flowers on a Tuesday. Love is mowing your neighbor's lawn when they are out of town. Love is talking to a homeless man, shaking his dirty hand, hugging him without caring how he smells, giving him food. Love is noticing when someone you work with is sad or lonely or tired or troubled and inviting them to lunch.  

Love is listening ... love is caring ... love is doing whatever it takes to make a difference in someone's life. Love is washing the Legos ... love is washing the millions of Legos because love really and truly isn't in the saying, friends ... love really and truly is in the doing.