Mission impossible

mission impossible
I spent an afternoon earlier this week attempting to sort through our six bins of Playmobil and reassemble castles and families and scenes. There’s a reason I titled this post “Mission Impossible.” I wasn’t doing it because I’m short of projects, of course; I was doing it because CJ was home sick and desperate for someone to play with. So we dragged out the Playmobil. All of it. If you’d been listening in, this is how our “playtime” would have sounded: “Stop sorting, Mommy! Make your guy talk to my guy!” And then I’d make my guy say, “Let’s find my missing candelabra base. We can go on a deep sea mission to the bottom of this bin and ….” Deep sigh from CJ.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not good with the playing.

My proudest accomplishment of the afternoon was the completion of one room in a princess castle. One room. It is now on a high shelf and everyone who looks at it has to sing “Aaaaaaaah” in an angelic tone while gazing appreciatively. Or maybe that’s just me. In any case, no one is allowed to touch it. Oh wait. Isn’t that the whole point? Of having TOYS? Maybe Albus was on to something when he came into the living-room later that evening and began vrooming the newly restored Playmobil car (with doctor and doctor’s teeny-tiny kit that includes a teeny-tiny flu shot needle) through my carefully sorted piles. Let’s just say the doctor might be in the wrong profession. She should have been a smash-em-up-derby racer with jet-pack engines and maybe a flame-thrower or two. Can you hear the heart-breaking sound of plastic items being explosively scattered across a wooden floor? I’m sure it was fun on the pure level of play, but I become momentarily deeply discouraged. My carefully sorted piles! Tossed asunder!

There’s a lesson in here somewhere, if I care to extract it. But is that the kind of day it is? A day for lessons? No, today, I’d rather skip the moral of the story, down my cup of coffee, gird my loins, and head out into the horror that is the streets of uptown: thick with people driving their cars around and around as they seek for a parking spot and grow increasingly grim and hopeless (and mentally act out the Playmobil doctor’s wreckless acts of destruction). Merry Christmas! I’m going to walk instead. But wow. I need some girding, some serious girding. I’m in the homestretch of preparations. I can do this! I can find and assemble every piece of this Playmobil holiday!

Wait, what were we talking about?

What I've been up to ...
Let it shine

4 Comments

  1. Tricia Orchard

    Isn’t the Playmobil fun? There was a time when I knew where every single piece went and how they all went together, but no more. I gave up. It didn’t help that a group of kids over here playing last year took apart our Playmobil castle as though it were Lego. That was a fun little project trying to reassemble the damn thing!

    Good luck uptown. It isn’t pretty up there!

    Reply
  2. Carrie Snyder

    Tricia, I’m done!!! I’m done! I’m done!

    Did you get all of your errands run this morning? Sure hope so. It was a zoo uptown. Lots grumpy drivers. I had to tap on someone’s hood before crossing the street–a guy turning left, looking over his left shoulder, never noticing the pedestrian who had the crosswalk signal, while he had the red light. Good grief! And then HE looked annoyed when I finally got his attention.

    Reply
  3. Margo

    I’m terrible at playing too! I automatically start to sort and purge – only I try to disguise the purging part.
    And now Christmas has dumped a whole crapload of NEW toys to sort and purge. I think I hate toys. The kids make toys with anything they find anyway – forget the tiny pieces that drive me batty and go up the vacuum pipe.

    Reply
  4. Carrie Snyder

    Lots of new Lego entered the house–but hopefully it will still built into the cool sets (my eldest LOVES building Lego sets; if only we could find a way for him to do something similar without buying new Lego sets. I think it’s excellent spacial/puzzle brain work).

    When bits go up the vacuum, I just pretend I heard nothing.

    We had a pretty good Christmas, gift-wise. Not too much waste. Thoughtful gifts from family. On the whole, a success.

    Reply

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