Fridge Magnets and Postcards

    I collect certain things as a hobby. I don't like to admit it publicly because some people think that I am really a hoarder who won't admit that I have a problem. There is a clear distinction between one who hoards and one who collects. A collector has certain criteria that an object must meet before it will be acquired. The object must come from a certain artist, a certain time period or have other qualities determined by the collector. A collector also collects certain specific things.
   I have several collections. I collect teapots and cups, mugs, postcards and refrigerator magnets. I used to collect pens, but had to stop when the drug reps stopped handing them out. It was a shame really. I got a lot of interesting shaped pens. Some of them worked well too.
  The two collections I want to focus on today are fridge magnets and postcards. I don't have a lot of fancy criteria. You really can't when collecting two such common objects. My standards are simple. I like unusual things, funny things or touching things. I also like postcards from places that people I know have been. Friends of mine are used to hearing me request a postcard whenever they go on a trip.
  The reason why I like this is because it's fun to see what my friends will pick out. Is it someplace where they have been that impressed them? Is it the someplace they found to be very beautiful? Is it someplace they thought they would never go? Maybe it was a tourist spot that I would never go to, but they wanted me to see.
  Sometimes I will see postcards that I like and buy them for my collection. I have a postcard that says "I had a cow and it hurt." To me that's funny. I have a white postcard that ways, "Mount Rushmore in the fog" and black postcard that says, "Mount Rushmore in the dark". I have postcard with a picture of the Green Bay Packer's locker room on it. I have a wooden postcard that a friend from Montana sent me. I have several postcards from New York and California that Carrie brought for me. I have postcards with old black and white pictures that have funny captions on them. (Some of the are a bit racy.)
  None of these cards are ever going to be worth anything. I sometimes imagine that my book of postcards will wind up in some thrift store, where someone will take a look at it and wonder what life was like back in the days when these cards were mailed or bought.
  My fridge magnet criteria is a bit more strict. It has to be something that jumps out and grabs me or must be from a business that I patronize so I would need the phone number handy. Since I have limited fridge space this helps to keep my collection from getting too big. I also have a rule that the magnets must have a positive statement. Since the fridge door is one place that we look at a lot, I don't want any kind of negative or insulting thing there.
   One of the magnets has a drawing of a woman's face and it says, "you're perfect just the way you  are". Another is a quote from an unknown source that says, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" Right next to that one is an Abraham Lincoln quote, "Whatever you are, be a good one"
   On the end of the row is another unknown quote, "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." I bought that one because Carrie had just moved in with us and was starting college. I wanted her to see that message. She was at the beginning of her path as an adult and the magnet expressed something I wanted her to consider. Some of the magnets I buy are reminders or things that I aspire to. There is an Emerson quote that I bought for New Year's Day. "finish each day and be done with it. you have done what you could. some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. tomorrow is a new day. you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
  I found one in a bookstore once. It says, "Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know Christ will want to know Christ because they know you." I like this because there are so many people out there that are very overt and "in your face" about their faith or something else that they strongly believe in. Sometimes the best thing to do is be a living example of your faith whatever that may be. It can be much more effective than preaching.
  As you may have guessed there are a lot of cat magnets on the fridge. We have pictures of cats with red hats,one that says either "The cat is hungry" or "The cat is fed" depending on what side is showing. We have a drawing of a cat that says,I'm up to no good.... want to join me?" My favourite one is a picture of a cat lying on a piano wrapped in a blanket. To the side of the picture it says, "There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. Albert Schweitzer" I would have to agree although I would add books and knitting to the list as well.
   I really like our collection of magnets. It is a mix of all sorts of things from the Cecil's Deli magnet to the magnet in the shape of a banjo to the ones I have already mentioned. I like to think that our fridge door is place to express who we are and who we would like to be. I can't think of a better place.....