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Collecting Collections

I don't know a single person who doesn't have one collection or another.  Some collect glassware, some fishing poles, some collect jewelry, some cameras, but some of us collect so many collections that it becomes a part of who we are.  The collecting of collections takes control and as the collector, you become part of the collection itself.

Today my 18 month old and I visited an auction of numerous household items.  There was a "sport" auction, a "household" auction and a simple "odds and end" type auction.  It is fascinating to watch people.  I am fascinated with what people buy!  Many of the items seen at an auction are just plain JUNK!  Now, I love junk, BUT there comes a point in time when it is just that.  While wandering the aisles I saw people literally sitting in their pile of "junk" waiting to snag the great deal of a lifetime.  The deal of a lifetime that will most likely go home with them and then sit in another heaping pile of more "junk".  Isn't that the great "collecting" strategy though?  We collect to collect and the cycle continues.

I have always been a collector.  I collected arrowheads, rocks and coins as a youngster.  Now that I am a mother, I realize the importance of these collections for my children.  I was thrilled to find a fossil rock in the driveway as a kid.  I was thrilled to go into a shop on vacation with my family and find the special "rock collecting" area of the shop that had all those beautifully, shiny, sparkly gems I couldn't live without.  I still to this day catch myself wandering toward those gems!  I just can't get enough of it!  I can see in my children how their own "collections" are so important to them.  Many times I wonder to myself, "what is so great about those darn squinkies anyway?!"  Or the strangely scattered odds and ends they piece together as their "collection".  Half the time I feel like throwing out the majority of the "junk" they collect!!!  But I catch myself because I realize the importance of the collection to my children.  To them it has a special meaning and purpose.  One day the collections they collect will have more of a "value" than they do now.  Until then, I will gladly watch them collect.

"Childhood Coin Collection"

Tonight for the first time I showed my older two children, 3 and 6 years my "coin collection".  Now this coin collection has been dear to my heart since I was a young child.  I can remember my grandma giving me coins and $2 bills and I would literally hoard them in my dresser drawers.  The special jar was from my mom and it's meaningful because of the carousel horse on the lid.  I also collected Carousel horses growing up, but that's another topic for another day.  I still have my first collection of coins and bills and I enjoy looking through it from time to time.  Tonight was that time.  The kids took baths, ate a snack, read books, brushed teeth and then, the time had come for the great "coin collection" unveiling.  They were more excited to see the great "coin collection" than they were to give their mommy a goodnight smooch!  I have coins and bills from all over the world.  We laid them all on the floor and studied each one.  The ages ranged from 1941 to the 1990's.  Although I am 30 years old, I still enjoy hunting for old coins.  Tonight though was more special than before simply because I was able to share the experience with my kids and watch their faces light up over simple bills and coins.

Keep on collecting those collections!

Truly,

Scrap-Brat