When I was 13, we took a family vacation to Denmark. While we were there, we made the obligatory trip to Legoland. My thirteen year old self was completely underwhelmed by the visit. I thought I was too old and too cool to get excited over Lego replicas of the Alps, Taj Mahal and White House. (Although I'll admit the Lego traffic school was kind of neat!)
While we were there, my mom bought me a Lego key chain. It was a little Lego girl, kind of nifty, and so I put it on my keychain. Twenty Five years later, I still have a Lego girl on my key chain. She isn't the original, I've replaced her twice. (Those little Legos are pretty hardy.) My current Lego girl's face has completely rubbed off, and she's missing her hands, but she's hanging in there.
I'm not quite sure why I've kept my Lego girls for so long. Once I was in high school it was kind of a "thing," but beyond that it was something more. My Lego girl reminds me of who I was and who I am. She's utilitarian, the anti-Barbie, and my own little feminist talisman.
A few years ago, about the time Hollis started to pay attention to Legos, he noticed my Lego girl. And he and Holden ask about her all the time. They want to know how I got my first Lego girl, all about Legoland, and why I still have her on my key chain. Oh, and why I won't let them have her to add to their personal Lego collections!
The week before Christmas, I went to New York for work. While I was there, I decided to go check out the Lincoln Center tree and skating rink and take a few photos on my iPhone for the boys. Walking along 5th Avenue, I saw the Lego store. Like the mother of any boy of a certain age, I had to pop into the store and check it out. Just so I could tell the boys about it, of course! And near the check out counter, I found them. The Lego keychains. I wasn't able to find a family, but I got pretty close. Now we all have Lego keychains.
Hollis is the kinght and Holden is the jester. And both boys are thrilled with their tiny avatars.
