Saturday, May 19, 2012

What do you collect?

Do people still collect things?  I am a bit of a dork.  I actually have three collections of sorts.

  When I was a child, traveling around all over the place my Gran collected Salt and Pepper shakers and started a collection for me as well. When my Gran passed, my parents drove them all the way from Indiana to Massachusetts to make sure that I received all of them.  Though they are all in boxes now- in terms of size I have between 6 & 10 book boxes full.  I have no place to display them so they remain carefully boxed from my move from New England back to Indiana.  They are a piece of my Gran that I cannot give up no matter how much room those boxes take up.

Second is my collection of Nora Roberts books.  I love most all of her books but her "family" series just make me happy.  Not just the traditional family types- but families of the heart as well.  The Stanislaskis, The MacGregors, The Donovans, The Quinns, The O'Hurleys, The Bride Quartet, The Calhouns, Cordiana's Royal Family, I could go on for days but I have read them over and over and over. Before the end of June I will have an inventory put together so that I can start scouring our local "Fleas" and yard sales for the missing books.  What I love is that even though I have read them all- literally- 25+ times each, they never feel dated.  You feel invested in the characters.  I only wish she would start writing the next generations.  I enjoy the books so much that when she comes out with a new series (like the current Inn Boonesboro series) I have to make myself wait until all of the books are published before I buy and read them because I cannot stop.  With the Bride Quartet it was April of '09 till November of '10 before all four were released.  It took me three days to finish them, they are just that good.

Last is my Harry Potter collection.  Do you catch a theme here?  I love the Harry Potter series.  What J.K. Rowling did to revitalize reading for both children and adults is amazing.  I have the books (in both hardcover and paperback), the dvds, the App, two collector's wands, a playing card game, sticker books, a Gryffendor cape and hat, a journal, the additional companion books and several Legos sets.  I am always on the lookout at the Fleas for complete Lego sets and other merchandise to add to the collection.

As I was composing this post I realized that I have several mini collections as well.  I have the complete works of M.R. Sellars.  If you enjoy paranormal mysteries- he's your guy.  I am working on collecting as many of the Chicken Soup books as I can find.  Currently I have 10 or 12.  We started collecting Dragon stuff.  Dragons and Gargoyles just tickle my dark side.  The problem with that one is that, like my salt and peppers, I don't have room to display them so we stopped buying...for now.  We also have a small collection of Boston sports "stuff".  From jerseys to a Red Sox stop light, from my entire Christmas tree full of Pats stuff to street signs, from the decals on both of our cars to my Pats jammies;  when himself gets his man cave- it will be all Pats, Sox and Bruins.   I collect recipes, articles that interest me, and other assorted "stuff".  If not for Pinterest I would need another filing cabinet.

So what do my collections say about me?  The true collections say that I am a rabid reader and sports fanatic who loves my Granny.  What do they do for me?  They allow me to surround myself with the things I love.  The books allow me to spend hours in other worlds, the S&P's keep my Gran close even though she has been gone for several years and they also remind me of the travels I have had through the years and the sports stuff lets the world know that I love my teams.  As for the minor collections?  The recipes, well, when I retire I will cook something new far more often than my other half would like.  The articles- they say that I am always looking to improve myself and learn new things.  The Dragons allow me to indulge that "goth" place inside me without making a statement to the world.

 Heck, when we were kids one sister collected decorative plates, hubby collected baseball cards and comics.  Even now he still has many of his cards and a collection of knives.  Even my son collected Pogs and  things like that.  You don't hear much any more about people (especially kids) collecting things. It make me sad that it's a dying tradition.  I feel that it just shows how "disposable" the world has become.

So what about you?  Do you now or did you ever collect anything?   

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