I had a definite "dad moment" today. It's funny how the silliest and littlest things can suddenly serve as a symbol of massive changes in one's life. Here I am, I've become a father, quit my job to raise my son full-time, joined playgroups and so forth. But what should hit me between the eyes? Plastic building blocks.

 

That's right, Legos. Actually, Duplos.

 

Arden and I walked into Shirlington today, as we do on many a good-weather day. We went in to the public library to see if there were any kids Arden could play with. (OK, play near. OK, watch intently.) There weren't any other kids, so we sat and read a couple of books. Then I put him on the floor and pulled out some of the toys that they keep in the children's section. They have some nice wooden blocks and some Duplo toys. If you recall, Duplo are the larger sized blocks intended for younger kids. I built some towers for him to knock down and stacked some Duplo blocks that he could whack until they came apart. He wasn't very much interested in the vertical or balanced nature of the towers. And the stacked Duplo blocks shattering into multiple pieces didn't impress him.

 

As we sat there, I thought about how proud I will be of Arden when he is old enough (or, more accurately, cognitively advanced enough) to play "properly" with the Duplos. Sure, he was playing with them today, but not by clicking them together or building things with them.

 

That's when the "dad moment" hit me. I suddenly remembered how when I was younger I used to disdain Duplo blocks because they were the "basic set." I played with Legos, of course, building spaceships and houses and god knows what else. Duplo were just too klunky to build almost anything. And the Duplo people have no feet, they're just torso and head, so playing a game with them always seems a little silly if they come out of their vehicle or house. Of course I knew that Duplo served a purpose, but I always thought of them as just a starting point. You know, the Baby Legos.

 

The "dad moment" was realizing that I was looking forward to the fantastic day when Arden builds with Duplo! They have become an end in themselves, not a feeder toy for Legos. It didn't even enter my mind that graduating to Legos would somehow be better. It won't, it'll just be different. A milestone for a much later age (when he's less likely to swallow them, for starters).

 

Not a world-altering revelation, but it gave me pause.