Can’t take it with you

My wife’s grandfather passed away in September at the age of 95. It was a sad time, but we got through it by recalling memories and supporting each other. I was also proud of my oldest son who insisted on going to the funeral because he wanted to say goodbye. He’s a smart kid and he understood what was happening. When my great grandmother passed away when I was 11, I don’t even think I was ready for something like that. My son handled it better than I did back in 1994 and at the time of my wife's grandfather's passing, my son was only 7. Of course, after a death in the family there is usually a reading of a will. Well, that is where things started getting sticky with my mother-in-law and my wife’s aunt. I just want to stay out of it. One night my wife was on the phone with her mom (on speakerphone in our bedroom) and I guess my wife’s grandfather split things so terribly that it’s starting a divide between my mother-in-law and her aunt. It’s a messy situation. My oldest son heard part of the conversation and if you didn’t know, my son is ridiculously smart. He’s reading at a 6th grade level in 2nd grade and has reading and math scores in those nationwide tests in the 97th and 99th percentile for kids his age. Well, he is picking up what is happening between his grandma and my wife’s aunt and he asked me, “Daddy, what will you leave me when you die?” This is a question I had thought about many times. Do my kids want all these cards I have compiled for years? If someone dumped a collection of stuff that I didn’t have much interest in on me after they passed, I might be a little upset. So, I simply asked him, “I will leave you all my cool cards in my office. Wouldn’t that be cool?” He looked at me confused and said, “No daddy, they would remind me of you and if I looked at them, I would get sad. I wouldn’t want any of them.” 

I know my son is only 8, but I really believe he wouldn’t want any of them, even when he's older. So, I said, “What if I left you my posters, art, guitars and electronics?” He smiled and I knew that he was trying to be nice about the cards. He really doesn’t want anything to do with them. That night I tossed and turned in bed. Eventually, I just got up out of bed and went down to my office. I looked over my 2 PC boxes and really went through the cards; determined to narrow these PC boxes to just 1. After it was said and done, I had One-Touches and top loaders lining my small computer desk (see below.) I spent the next afternoon scanning and listing cards because I can’t take this stuff with me. I sure as heck don’t want to be a burden on my sons or my wife. So, since November I have sold off a bunch of my collection. Also, I have been limiting the cards coming in which is helping cut down the pure volume of cards that I own. 

Pile of unnecessary, but cool 

This photo was just the beginning.

Am I leaving the hobby? I have to think about that one, but for now, no. I'm certainly not having much fun like I had previously. I've been averaging around 2-3 cards purchased per month since November and that stuff is mostly for sets I'm working on. I've moved out probably close to 1,500 cards since that time, with a huge lot scheduled to go out to a friend of mine in May. Collecting cards, sorting, scanning, it all used to be something that I could come down into my office for some "me" time and relieve any stress I may have had. I don't really get that from my collection anymore. Maybe it was my son's disinterest, or maybe this has been something that has built up over time. All I know is when I look at these boxes, I don't get happy, I get stressed, angry and there are days when I just plain ignore it. Also, any time I'm on social media I see videos of guys looking up comps on their phones to argue on price, breakers hitting multiple of the chase cards at a time with total outrage and backlash in the comments, teenage kids carrying around card cases at shows with cards worth 5 figures, people telling everyone to "block this guy" because he scammed them or people complaining about what grade their card got. It's exhausting. There are barely any posts that I see that are happy that revolve around cards unless I'm reading someone's blog posts and even then, some are dipping into the negative factor to collecting and I get it. That's what also sucks. My kids are smart to have no interest in this stuff. Like I have said previously in my blog, I got into this hobby because it helped me learn to read. I have happy memories of those times. They outweigh the current memories of card collecting. 

Am I done blogging? HELL NO. I have a huge box of stuff labeled "Blog Stuff" that I can blog about for a while. Occasionally, I don't mind picking up something I feel is blogworthy and I'm also working on a few sets (1989 Topps and 1994 Topps Special Effects Football), so I can always throw a few posts about progress and whatnot. Also, I have a ton of TTM stuff to post about as I have received some responses, so stay tuned.

As always, thanks for reading.