The Students Shall Surpass The Master, Which Kind Of Ticks This Master Off

I’ve decided to undertake a creative project with my sons. My plan is to build a Lego brick, miniature scale replica of the cabin my family has stayed in on summer fishing trips for the last several years.

The design itself shouldn’t pose too serious of a challenge. It’s a square cabin with a low slanted roof. The doors and windows are not located in strange places. The standard Lego door or window would not look very different from them. There are very few rooms. Should we decide to detail the inside so that a mini-figure family can vacation within, it ought not to be overly complicated. The cabin is red. Aside from gray, red is most certainly the color Lego brick I possess the largest inventory of.

The real challenge of this project looks to be my ability to relinquish complete artistic control of the final product.

Regular readers will remember that my sons have been undertaking some pretty complicated Lego builds on their own. They’ve tackled a few Lego Star Wars sets by themselves. Most notably, a few days ago, I woke to discover a Y-Wing over halfway assembled on my dining room table. I knew this was not my wife’s doing. As the smile of fatherly pride spread across my face, the child inside me stomped out of the room in jealousy.

You were supposed to wait for me!

So how do I build a relatively simple model house without being completely phased out during its construction? They’ve displayed proficiency in assembling vehicles that can cruise through the galaxy, regardless of how long ago they were used or how far away said galaxy was. A basic red box with some predictably placed doors and windows shouldn’t pose them a problem by comparison.

I feel like the father who plays basketball with his kids and realizes that some day they will defeat him without his purposely letting them score or intentionally missing any potential game winning shots. Ultimately, the goal is to have fun with them while you teach them to play better. Their increased ability can be seen as a testament to your teaching ability. This is the lesson of Kung Fu masters everywhere. However, it still stings a little when the reality that they have surpassed of your skill level sets in.

I find myself in a dilemma that many parents who enjoy their children’s hobbies along with them must face. Do I want them to be so good that they don’t need my help anymore or do I want them to need me to step in and finish all their building projects for them?

If I could hope for a happy medium, I think I would want them to have just enough problems to keep my services and advice relevant. I think the fact that most of their Lego success has come from finely detailed set instructions should keep me in the loop. The planning and creative process would seem to be a facet of the build where I could still lend my life experience.

And, just to be safe, maybe I’ll hold back on a few tricks of the trade. Maybe I won’t volunteer to show them how we could make the pier leading out to the lake just yet. The old man might need to have a few surprises up his sleeve for a later project.