This prompt reminds me of my mother. She’s a collector, like her mother before her, and just as I am today. One of the things my mother collected was candle holders.
I don’t have a picture of the collection. I know where a lot of the pieces are; they’re in the back bedroom on shelves behind the door. There’s a lot of stuff stored in that room right now, and I’m not sure I could even get to it to take a picture.
For years, I would give her a candle holder, or a matching pair, for Christmas or birthday, along with an elephant. That’s her other major collection.
My mom started collections for me, too. Giraffes, dolls – one from each country we visited – and spoons, when I was little. As I got older, I wanted horses. For a while, I collected shot glasses (some of those – and one of my porcelain horses – got broken when a shelf collapsed in my room). When I got married, my mom said she was going to start giving me a Santa figurine every Christmas; I told her I wanted reindeer instead.
My grandmother’s collections included combs (the first piece in that set was one she found on the sidewalk), flyswatters, pitchers, and nails (the largest was a railroad spike). Because she was a teacher, she received rulers with advertising on them. Students gave coffee mugs and salt & pepper shakers. When I would stay with her, mam-ma would pay for cleaning services to dust and/or wash some of these collectibles. There was good spending money to be had!
If I had the money, I’d build a museum to display all these collections. I think people would find them interesting, and every day would be a walk down memory lane.
Rhyme Schemes and Daydreams 