Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Why Do We Do This?
I'm a collector. At least I used to be a collector. And when I collect something, I usually go way overboard. Sort of like an addiction I suppose.
There are four things in particular that I concentrated on collecting over the years, and for the most part they were collected simultaneously.
My addiction to collecting NASCAR diecast began with Dale Jr.'s career. It was an absolute must that I own the majority of his 1:24 cars from the time he started racing in the 90's. That enormous task has been accomplished, despite the fact that it took a lot of money and a lot of time tracking them down. When he signed on with Hendrick Motorsports, I bought four different 2008 cars. And then I stopped. I also own a boatload of Bill Elliott cars. And then there are the Dale Earnhardt Sr. cars that I bought for my husband which includes almost every one of his cars over his career.
I can't remember when I started collecting Beanie Babies. I concentrated solely on the bears due to my love for teddy bears. For those I turned to the local pharmacy that would call me whenever new ones were released. They would set all the bears aside and I would pick them up. I also found a great deal of the international bears on eBay. And those were not cheap by any means. I cut myself off from buying anymore in June 2005. I haven't bought any since. I lost count of how many I have.
And then there are these sweet things: Cherished Teddies. I have a small curio cabinet full of them. I stopped collecting these when I ran out of room in that cabinet. Otherwise I'd probably still be going strong because they are small and not as expensive.
Porcelain dolls. What can I say? This was my worst addiction. When I started collecting artist dolls the market was at its height. And every doll I saw was cuter than the one I had just ordered. Remember those cards in all the magazines for dolls? I got a lot that way. And QVC of course was another source. I couldn't wait till another doll show was on. The only doll shows they have now are the occasional one with Marie Osmond. I bought her first doll which she named after her mother. At one time it was valued at $800. It may have gone higher, but I stopped checking on it. I have no idea what it is worth today. Probably a lot less than $800.
I eventually put a stop to collecting the dolls many years ago. My plans for their usage didn't work out, and so they sit in their boxes, some never opened, piled up in one of the rooms. I lost count and even if I knew how many I have I probably wouldn't share that number with anyone. I would be too embarrassed to do so.
Now that I no longer collect any of these items, I ask myself why did I do it in the first place? Why not just a few of this and a few of that? Why did I go overboard? I don't know the answer to those questions. I do know, had I not spent my money on those things, that I would probably have spent it on something else.
What I am getting at is so many of us do the same thing over our lifetimes. Just about everyone collects something. And then we reach a time in our lives and wonder why we did it. I am at that place now. I don't think I'll ever know the answer. But I will say this: a lot of the time the thrill of the hunt was most exhilarating.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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