For years, my mother collected bears. It started off simply enough – she liked teddy bear figurines, and she would get one every so often when she wandered in a shop or when we went vacationing in the mountains. There were plenty of curio shops in the little towns near where we camped, and she loved to go in and browse the shelves.
Then, when Christmas came, it was an easy gift. She liked bears, so I would try to find one for her, one that was unusual or interesting or cute. So would my sister. And so would my dad, occasionally. That went on for years.
When the bear collection got a bit too large for her dresser top, she moved it to a cabinet down in the kitchen, an open-faced wooden series of shelves my grandfather made for her. The collection took up the entire cabinet, which was about five feet high, but the little guys had plenty of room to spread out.
Then people who visited – her friends, especially – began seeing the cabinet and commenting on it. And guess what? She started getting more bears for Christmas and her birthday. Soon the cabinet was filled to overflowing. And she kept getting more, and more, and more…until she put her foot down and declared she wasn’t collecting bears anymore.
What I’m saying is, be careful your collection doesn’t run away with you! Or you might have to start another!
For instance, my mom collects Noah’s Ark depictions now. Those, at least, are a little harder to find than bears…and don’t end up as gifts quite as often!
