Welcome back to Jason's monthly blog post about LEGO and family.

I love my LEGO Family!

Both the Concord and Manteca stores have some regular customers that to me feel a bit like the grandchildren I do not yet have. I refer to some of these customers as “Number One Customers.” Over time I have learned their names and gotten to know a bit about them and their families. “Number One Customers” are all different ages and come from all different backgrounds. The youngest of these customers make sure to keep me honest with my information or misinformation by correcting me when I identify a minifigure by the wrong name or struggle to pull the minifigure they have just named. Often, they delight is showing they know more than I do about Ninjago or Star Wars. As they get older some of these “Number One Customers” want to talk about projects they are working on. They are looking for particular pieces and jump at the opportunity to spend some time in the back area finding the perfect piece for their project. Pre-Teen “Number One Customers” often bring in friends to introduce to the store and to work with on their combined project. Then, there are the “Number One Customers” that are getting a bit older, they are young adults. Young Adults come in to sell their Legos, or ask about the possibility of getting their first job. These customers know a lot about Lego and they still enjoy the Lego world but they are learning to share their time and interest with things like video games, their peers, and independent ventures.

Most of these “Number One Customers” come in with their parents. Sometimes the parents are very involved in their child’s experience at Bricks and Minifigs” and sometimes they take the opportunity to observe from our comfortable chair near the entry. I notice they are almost always observing and delighting in the life lessons being learned by their children. With the younger “Number One Customers” we see lessons such as how to properly wait and ask for assistance, or how to figure sales tax into your budget in order to purchase the maximum amount of Lego you want. With the older “Number One Customers” the lessons seem to center on insuring a fair price is reached in the sale of their Lego or in just how they approach me appropriately dressed and nervous to ask about the opportunity for employment.

In all cases these “Number One Customers” come with “Number One...” These “Number One’s” (Parents, Guardians, Aunts, Uncles, Nannies, Family Friends…) are the transporters, the teachers, the financiers, the supporters… To you I say thank you. It truly does take a village to raise a child and I appreciate that you allow us to be a part of your village.