Pieces and Parts!

I have said for years that building with LEGO bricks is my therapy! Those colorful bricks have gotten me through the best of days and most importantly through the worst of times. What some people haven’t experienced is that some of the power of LEGO bricks is the fact that you can “build your feelings” and then break that model into many pieces and parts to build something else, especially as your feelings and mood change! Thankfully I’m beginning to share that powerful feeling with more people as the dream that Tim and I had of my LEGO Serious Play sessions becoming a primary focus of my business is steadily becoming a reality.

This was definitely an up and down week emotionally for me! I got some incredibly exciting emails about some collaborations I’ll be doing in 2022, BUT I also was the lowest I had been in years on Thanksgiving Day. After I returned home that evening, I opened the huge box of 800 minifigures I’ll be adding to my Inspiration Kits of 45 LEGO pieces and as I stared at the dozens of bags of pieces I immediately began to feel a sense of peace and calm! There are nine pieces that make up each minifigure and as I slowly began to assemble the pieces I thought of how caregivers often feel as if we are broken into lots of pieces and parts. Our hearts break as we watch people we love and care for decline, our arms and legs feel as if they will fall off at times as we carry heavy emotional and physical loads, especially as we work to get the services we need for those we care for.

I had ordered eight different colors of the minifigures and had planned to build them in solid colors. But the more I thought about the different pieces and parts that can get tired as caregivers carry out their responsibilities and duties I decided to put several different colored pieces into one minifigure, as if the different pieces and parts made up our strengths and weaknesses and our superpowers. If we could replace different pieces of ourselves at times, our strengths and weaknesses, what would we change and why? Do we always use our brains effectively when making decisions? Do we bend our legs enough to take a seat to recharge ourselves? Do our hearts feel like a piece is missing as we grieve the decline we helplessly watch?

As we go into the last few days of National Family Caregivers Month, I hope that caregivers can find the energy they need so all of their pieces and parts to work together to make them the best caregivers they can be! I hope they can fill the hole in their hearts with the support of others and surround themselves with layers of love! As we head into 2022 my goals are simple. I want to help caregivers build their feelings with as many pieces and parts as they need and to encourage them to keep building with their Inspiration Kits whenever they need to. And I want to help those with dementia to rebuild as many of the pieces and parts of their memories as they can. Though all of the pieces and parts of my Mom seem to work differently each day there are still so many things she can do and enjoy! I love each and every part of her and will continue to do so until her very last day!