Investing time
26/08/16 04:58
I wonder how many hours of my life I have invested in the task of sorting through bins of Lego bricks to find just the right part for a project that a child is building. Legos existed when I was a child, but I didn’t ever have that particular building system. I had Erector sets, which have lots of tiny parts. My younger brother had Legos, but in those days there weren’t many specialized parts. Legos were, at that time, mostly red and white bricks of a couple of different sizes that worked very well for building buildings and other structures. Over the years, the toy system developed lots and lots of specialized parts for constructing vehicles, boats, construction equipment and other items. There is even a system of mini figures with interchangeable parts for constructing characters for play. The toy is mostly sold as kits with parts to make a specific item. After the original item is constructed, it can be taken apart and reconfigured in lots of different ways. From time to time the child wants to return to something close to the original project and the search for the right bricks begins. It can be frustrating for a child to not be able to find just the right parts, so one of the roles for an adult playing with the child is to search through the bins of bricks to find the part the child wants for the project.
I did quite a bit of that kind of searching when our son was a child and so I fall naturally into that role with our grandson.
Searching for Lego bricks is just one of the things I’ve done on my vacation. I’ve also helped construct a set of interconnecting cardboard troughs and tubes with copious amounts of masking tape into a marble maze. I’ve learned to manipulate the parts of transformers to change them from cars to robots and back again. I’ve ridden around the neighborhood on my bicycle following my grandson, reporting our speeds as he raced around. I’ve sat on the floor and been served countless cups of “tea” from a plastic pitcher and pretended to eat all kinds of foods served by our granddaughter. I’ve helped several dolls to get dressed in different outfits and tucked teddy bears into bed with tiny blankets. I’ve scooped sand into buckets and gotten drenched with blasts of water from spray bottles. I’ve lain in the grass looking up at the trees and imagined shapes in the clouds. I’ve read lots and lots of stories out loud. Some of them dozens of times.
There has been some productive work. I’ve prepared meals and shopped for groceries. I’ve run to the hardware store to pick up items for the house. One day our son took the day off of work and together we installed new flooring in their kitchen with all of the attendant moving of furniture, trimming of the flooring, and spreading glue. We still have baseboard to install and a bit of trim left before that project is complete.
Of course there are some things that I enjoy more than others. I love to take the children paddling in a canoe. I’m a big fan of walks and bike rides. I get great pleasure from a child coming to me with a book and crawling up into my lap no matter how many times I’ve read that story before. I admit I can get a bit tired of sorting through Lego bricks, but I do enjoy the creative projects that are pursued. There are few things in life more satisfying than working side by side with my son on a home improvement chore.
All of these things, of course, are not primarily about the tasks being accomplished. There is work that needs to be done. Meals need to be prepared. Children need loving are. Homes need constant repair. What matters the most, however, are the relationships. Children need adults in their lives who are safe, reliable and trustworthy. They need adults who listen carefully and who are willing to invest in their growth as fully functioning members of the community. Parents need times when their children are being cared for by others so they can take a brief break or engage in adult activities such as working for a living and engaging in adult conversation. There is a huge luxury in being one of four adults who are caring for only two children. The work load is heavier when we are in our own home and our children are caring for their children without our assistance. Vacation has a pace and intensity that is different from every day life.
There is more time for sorting Lego bricks without the usual deadlines that are a part of holding down a full time job and managing a household.
I am aware that before long I will have to shift gears into another mode and pursue different activities. I’m not yet at a life phase where I can linger for an extended period of time away from our home. Within the next week there will be three days of driving to get back to South Dakota and when we return I will need to dive into work to catch up with the busy activities of the church. There is a wedding to perform, worship to lead, a newsletter to produce. There are people in the church who are in need of care and prayer and attention.
The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of a time for every matter and a season for each task. The rhythm of life affords different energies for different projects. We humans are given the gift of diversity in our chores and a myriad of ways of investing our time. Life itself has seasons with different priorities and projects. The season of being grandparents is different for us than it was for previous generations whose life spans were shorter and who faced different diseases and disabilities. For us, there is the luxury of health and energy and the ability to travel.
It is a blessing to have a week when there is time enough to sort Lego bricks.
I did quite a bit of that kind of searching when our son was a child and so I fall naturally into that role with our grandson.
Searching for Lego bricks is just one of the things I’ve done on my vacation. I’ve also helped construct a set of interconnecting cardboard troughs and tubes with copious amounts of masking tape into a marble maze. I’ve learned to manipulate the parts of transformers to change them from cars to robots and back again. I’ve ridden around the neighborhood on my bicycle following my grandson, reporting our speeds as he raced around. I’ve sat on the floor and been served countless cups of “tea” from a plastic pitcher and pretended to eat all kinds of foods served by our granddaughter. I’ve helped several dolls to get dressed in different outfits and tucked teddy bears into bed with tiny blankets. I’ve scooped sand into buckets and gotten drenched with blasts of water from spray bottles. I’ve lain in the grass looking up at the trees and imagined shapes in the clouds. I’ve read lots and lots of stories out loud. Some of them dozens of times.
There has been some productive work. I’ve prepared meals and shopped for groceries. I’ve run to the hardware store to pick up items for the house. One day our son took the day off of work and together we installed new flooring in their kitchen with all of the attendant moving of furniture, trimming of the flooring, and spreading glue. We still have baseboard to install and a bit of trim left before that project is complete.
Of course there are some things that I enjoy more than others. I love to take the children paddling in a canoe. I’m a big fan of walks and bike rides. I get great pleasure from a child coming to me with a book and crawling up into my lap no matter how many times I’ve read that story before. I admit I can get a bit tired of sorting through Lego bricks, but I do enjoy the creative projects that are pursued. There are few things in life more satisfying than working side by side with my son on a home improvement chore.
All of these things, of course, are not primarily about the tasks being accomplished. There is work that needs to be done. Meals need to be prepared. Children need loving are. Homes need constant repair. What matters the most, however, are the relationships. Children need adults in their lives who are safe, reliable and trustworthy. They need adults who listen carefully and who are willing to invest in their growth as fully functioning members of the community. Parents need times when their children are being cared for by others so they can take a brief break or engage in adult activities such as working for a living and engaging in adult conversation. There is a huge luxury in being one of four adults who are caring for only two children. The work load is heavier when we are in our own home and our children are caring for their children without our assistance. Vacation has a pace and intensity that is different from every day life.
There is more time for sorting Lego bricks without the usual deadlines that are a part of holding down a full time job and managing a household.
I am aware that before long I will have to shift gears into another mode and pursue different activities. I’m not yet at a life phase where I can linger for an extended period of time away from our home. Within the next week there will be three days of driving to get back to South Dakota and when we return I will need to dive into work to catch up with the busy activities of the church. There is a wedding to perform, worship to lead, a newsletter to produce. There are people in the church who are in need of care and prayer and attention.
The writer of Ecclesiastes speaks of a time for every matter and a season for each task. The rhythm of life affords different energies for different projects. We humans are given the gift of diversity in our chores and a myriad of ways of investing our time. Life itself has seasons with different priorities and projects. The season of being grandparents is different for us than it was for previous generations whose life spans were shorter and who faced different diseases and disabilities. For us, there is the luxury of health and energy and the ability to travel.
It is a blessing to have a week when there is time enough to sort Lego bricks.