Legos and Non-Things

My boys love building things.  They have Magna Tiles, PlayStix, Legos, Tinker Toys…  They must have their Daddy’s genes!

They recently asked me if I played with Legos growing up.  I didn’t.  I thought back to what my sister and I played with when we were young.  Mostly we read books and played games.

We played Sorry, Trouble, Lite-Brite, Life, Hungry Hungry Hippos.  I remember some Barbies, but we weren’t obsessed.  One thing I had that I loved was Fashion Plates.  (See it here:  http://www.retroland.com/fashion-plates/.)  I just LOVED it – the pink plates, the different designs, the endless possibilities!

This got me thinking about other fun childhood memories.  I remember watching Duran Duran videos and the making of Thriller on MTV.  I remember when Love Boat and Fantasy Island were on television (Saturday nights) and Dance Fever (Saturday mornings).  I remember my Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag and Halloween costume (the plastic face mask with tiny eye holes!).

And then there were the non-thing memories.  Putting on our bathing suits and playing outside under the warm rain.  Sweeping the garage with my grandfather.  Dragging aside the coffee table, putting on some music, and dancing with my cousins every time we got together.  Memorizing Armenian poems for school presentations.  Driving to New Jersey at least once a month to visit my cousins.  Sleepovers with all my girl cousins at Grandma’s house.  Making snowmen in our backyard.

I hope my boys remember their non-thing memories more than their Legos.  Even so, I may ask for Fashion Plates for my birthday this year!

OK, I’m getting off my shoebox now.