MY DAUGHTER SOLD HER LEGO COLLECTION

Even I started to realize the collection wasn’t ordinary anymore.

One evening, I searched online for the value of one retired set she owned. The price shocked me. What we had originally purchased for around a hundred dollars was now worth nearly eight hundred.

Another set had tripled in value.

Some rare minifigures were selling individually for prices that seemed absurd for tiny pieces of plastic.

I told Emma jokingly, “You know you’re sitting on a small fortune, right?”

She laughed.

“I’m never selling them.”

At the time, I believed her completely.

Because how could she sell something that represented so much of her childhood?

Every set held a memory.

The pirate ship she built while recovering from the flu in fourth grade.

The giant Hogwarts castle she assembled with her cousin during winter break.

The robotics kit she used to win a regional science competition.

The tiny café set we built together during lockdown when the world outside felt uncertain and frightening.

The collection wasn’t just objects.