Emma Stubbs of Issaquah Dock turned 30 in 2020. Surprisingly, she says she won’t remember it as “the pandemic birthday.” Instead, she’ll remember it as “the Lego houseboat birthday.” Here’s the story, as told by Emma:
Let me start at the beginning… a month before my birthday, I began to receive a flood of orange envelopes in the mail from friends and family scattered across the country. Each envelope contained a birthday card, a cryptic clue to a puzzle I didn’t yet know about, and a small bag of Lego pieces. The clues were an uncoordinated, but somehow synchronous, set of haikus, collages, puns, and riddles. They all seemed to be related to my floating home. Where was this going?
On my birthday, my brother gave me a box with more Legos and a homemade manual illustrating how to build my very own—get this—custom-designed houseboat replica! Complete with a Peloton, lofted bed, hanging pans, washer-dryer, roof deck lifting platform, red Dutch door, accurately placed plants, and personalized figurines, this gift was truly a labor of love. My brother is to thank, along with my sister-in-law, my husband, and all the friends that participated with clues.
A bit about my brother. Jeremy is a mechanical engineer who has spent the last 12 years designing products at Apple. He is technically inclined, detail oriented, generous hearted, and obsessive when he puts his mind to something. With this context, it won’t surprise you that he designed this Lego masterpiece using CAD software, and sourced the pieces from all over the world (during a global pandemic). It turns out that a Lego red Dutch door is hard to come by.
At the age of 30, Legos brought me to tears with appreciation and joy. My 5-year-old self would be delighted. I share this story, hopeful that our community will appreciate this unique and loving gesture as well. Feel free to come by and check it out (safely socially distanced of course).