This fall we broke out the twin bins of "big kid" Legos and made a space for them in a corner of the family room. Eli's Duplo, the chunky preschool Lego pieces, went down to the playroom. They still get played with sometimes, but I miss them being an everyday thing.
During our California years, I snapped up used Duplo whenever I found it at thrift stores. Eventually Eli had four small bins of blocks and vehicles, but also many figures to choose from.
We soon noticed a trend. "Alien Boy" (from Toy Story) became a recurring hero in Eli's play. Alien Boy participated in all sorts of crazy antics and often was put in Time Out. Alien Boy didn't like broccoli. Alien Boy refused bedtime. Alien Boy got to do all the things Eli couldn't.
Then Granddad became a favorite. Granddad often swooped in to help out and save the day. Granddad was the one who put Alien Boy in Time Out when it was needed.
Here's the real Granddad. No overalls or mustache, but you can see the resemblance.
The next hero to get wide play was Ashley. "But that's Jessie from Toy Story!" you say? I know. But in Eli's world, this figure was Ashley. She had lots of adventures with Alien Boy and Granddad.
And here's the real Ashley. She lived up the hill in our neighborhood and perhaps Eli had a crush on her. See the resemblance to the Duplo Ashley? Nope. Me neither. So I asked Eli. It turned out that Real Ashley wore a red hat one time. Girl + red hat = Ashley.
Then Uncle Eric came to visit us in California. He's a firefighter, so it made sense that this Duplo figure soon became known as Uncle Eric.
The real Uncle Eric...
Duplo Uncle Eric (right) was soon joined by another family member,
Uncle Tim (left).
Here's the real Uncle Tim. When I asked Eli why that specific Duplo figure was Uncle Tim, the reply was that "Uncle Tim and Uncle Eric are friends, so they are alike."
Eli's Duplo figures were part of his first real forays into storytelling and play acting. I loved getting a glimpse into his thoughts and feelings through what he had the Duplo people do. And I loved the confirmation that prejudice nonsense isn't natural. Surrogates or doppelgangers for people in wee Eli's world were chosen more often because of costume rather than skin or hair color.
We eventually bought Eli the "Educator Set" of Duplo people along with a book about children of the world. I love that Eli's first action figures were of both genders and many ethnicities, making that hopefully seem as normal as having an array of buddies on the playground or in school.
Yup. I miss all those Duplo buddies.
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