From Northern Virginia — one more warm day before the cold settles in
I love to collect things. It started as a little girl with marbles — purees and cat eyes were my favorites. I sold most of them at a friend’s yard sale in second grade. (The marbles in the picture I found in my grandparent’s basement. They are all nicked up like they were well used.) Then around third grade I started collecting angel figurines. In sixth grade, for science, we had to do rock collections. I even liked that. During college my sorority mascot was turtles. I had a lot of turtles.
As an adult I’ve gone through a cobalt glass phase. I’ve given most of it away but kept some of my favorites.
A vintage tablecloth phase. Every once in awhile one of them seems better suited to some friend or the other so I’ve whittled down that collection.
And I’m overly fond of tables and chairs. The chair to the right was my mom’s from her childhood. Did I mention benches? I’ll talk about art another day. For Christmas there’s my Santa Claus collection.
Writing this is making me worry about myself. Thankfully, two things keep me from becoming a hoarder — a husband who’s a minimalist and a lot of moves. Being an Air Force wife meant different size living spaces at different assignments and weight limits for how much we could move. Bob would have killed me if I went over the weight limit.
I think we’ll be downsizing soon but I want to keep collecting something. A friend of mine suggested collecting the letter “H” a few years ago. They fit in a bowl. They are fun to search out in antique stores, thrift shops, and at yard sales. They’re small enough Bob doesn’t mind them or at least not out loud.
I’m not sure what drives me to collect things or why it changes over the years. But I’m guessing I’m not going to quit anytime soon.
What do you collect? Has it changed over the years?
