Collecting

Throughout my life, I have had a few collections that I enjoyed.  When my mother passed away, I took her teddy bear.  He is a beautiful little bear and he sits on a shelf in my bedroom.  I began collecting bears at that point but not just any bear.  The bears I wanted had to have character, a look in their eyes and a textured body.  At one point, I had over 100 bears-- most were given to me as gifts but some I purchased for myself.  I have also collect hinged boxes.  I had about 50 and when we moved, I gave the to Goodwill.  The collecting part was fun, but it didn't last as long as my bears did.  My bears also went to Goodwill.
My great grandmother collected salt and pepper sets.  I remember when we went to her house that it seemed she had hundreds of them and every time I see an old salt and pepper set in an antique shop I remember her collection.  I wish I had just one of her sets.  My mother started a collection of Fiesta Ware and her sister collected bears, books and dolls.
It is said that collections connect you to a period in your life that you feel strongly about and that you want to keep that part of your past now a part of your present.  Some collections are driven by the thrill of the hunt, the bargain and the beauty of the collection display.  Some collections become fads for a period of time --Beanie Babies were collected in the early 90's and there's a sad story about a family that collected those little animals in order to pay for their five children's college tuition.  They spent over $100,000 to end up with a $20,000 collection that he still owns sitting in his garage.
Topping a list of "Weirdest Collections" is a man who collects belly button lint and he keeps the lint in jars... and had the worlds largest collection! Weird, but true, is the young lady I new that collected eraser shavings.  Why?  No idea-- but to her, it was worth collecting.  There was a kid my boys knew that had a great collection of PEZ dispensers.
Then there are those who don't find any need to collect anything and I respect that.  My husband used to be a non-collector.  Now he finds enjoyment in unusual beers and can find a reason to keep that one bottle or glass! At this stage of my life I find making memories in other ways that cannot be defined in things or collections but in actions and time spent with our loved ones.   There are things I want to have around-- great books, classic games for the kids and a some family memorabilia but for now, that's enough stuff.