Collecting

I don't remember collecting anything when I was a child, but then I was one of seven children in what we would now consider poverty. I guess you could say I collected memories. When our children were young, they had collections. For my daughter it was stickers and horses. Jake, being a typical boy, collected things off the ground at first. We would take the wagon with us on walks to carry the sticks and rocks he "collected" as a pre-schooler. I remember bottle caps, too, and somewhere along the line, business cards. And pigs! We didn't have much disposable income when Jill and Jake were little, but her horse collection and his pig collection were serious endeavors, and therefore could be supplied through gifts at birthdays and Christmas from grandparents, aunts, cousins and of course, their parents. These collections grew impressive over the years, and by the time they were eight and ten, they qualified to exhibit at the Western Washington State Fair. The Collections Hall is still one of our favorite parts of the fair. As Tom and I became empty nesters, and with our kids' college educations paid for, we had the disposable income necessary for collecting. We began to enjoy antiquing, and it's always more fun to have something specific to "shop" for. Because our first hobby is gardening, we were attracted to items connected to gardening. Mine became pottery, especially old vases I could use for displaying flowers from the garden. Tom began collecting brass hose nozzles, old watering cans, and old garden sprinklers. While I can remember every piece of pottery I have, and often where I bought it, these pieces are easily distinguishable. Tom can look at hose nozzles, which look a lot alike to me, and know if it's a new one. As his collection grows, it gets harder to find different ones, but we still enjoy the hunt.