One-Shoe Sienna and “The Art of the Brick”

I didn’t panic. Sienna lost her shoe somewhere in Manhattan right before a large NYC Dads Group meetup at The Art of the Brick exhibition at Discovery Times Square and I didn’t panic. I didn’t freak out even though I knew we couldn’t bring strollers into the exhibit. I didn’t even lose it when I dug through Sienna’s diaper bag in search of the socks that are always there only to discover they weren’t. The fact that I didn’t panic didn’t even occur to me until after the meetup when Elaine called to tell me she was proud of me (I had immediately texted her about the lost shoe and she quickly ordered a new pair from Zappos). It feels weird, strange, looking back on this (my therapist always says, “Weird is good” because it means I’m not feeling my usual pessimism and anxiety). I don’t know if this is the start of something or if it’s a singular event. Was it because I was around two fellow dads with whom I felt comfortable and they both said that it happens to everyone? Was it because I really am growing? I don’t want to analyze it too much and am doing my best not to, but my brain keeps coming back to it. Why didn’t I panic??? Let me write about our trip to Discovery Times Square while I ponder.

Sienna and I in front of a LEGO Easter Island head. Note Sienna’s shoeless foot

“The Art of the Brick” is a brilliant collection of LEGO sculptures and pictures (such as “Starry Night” and “Scream”) created by artist, Nathan Sawaya. The work is simply amazing and ranges from reproductions of famous pieces of art to highly original and imaginative creations (including a T-Rex that took up an entire room!). I wish I had an ounce of Sawaya’s talent! If the instructions for building something aren’t on a LEGO box, I just stack blocks together into, well, stacks of blocks. There was a large group of dads and their kids who attended the meetup, but I wound up sticking with my friends Christopher (and daughter Camilla) and Larry (and son Peter) the entire time. We went at our own leisurely pace, often attempting (and failing) to have our kids pose in front of our favorite pieces. Sienna was the least cooperative on that front as all she wanted to do was run run run!

Peter, Camilla, and Sienna. Note my hand trying to keep Sienna from running off

I definitely want to return to the exhibit so I can really see things up and close and read all I can about Sawaya’s process because during this trip, I mostly saw this:

I highly recommend “The Art of the Brick” and I think it’s a great place to take older children, especially LEGO fanatics. I could imagine how older kids would run home, grab some LEGOS and just start creating.

Now back to that not panicking thing which has muddled my brain just as much as anxiety attacks tend to. I cannot stop attempting to figure out why it didn’t happen, which falls into my pattern of needing to understand everything about my life, my mind and the world – from why people like me to why I can’t seem to pull that switch and become an optimistic and happy person. As I’ve said before, my therapist is always telling me that I need to stop trying to understand and instead learn to accept things. Larry echoed this advice when I got the text from Elaine about how she was proud of me for holding up (Christopher had departed by then and Larry and I decided to grab lunch). I need to accept that I didn’t panic when Sienna lost her shoe right before a large contingent of dads went through an art exhibition at which no strollers were allowed. I need to believe and embrace it and see it as a step forward rather than trying to scrutinize it to death. I just need to accept it.