[KingFisk]

Jason Greco touched on this, but oftentimes I still look at my whole collection with a childlike sense of amazement. Like many of us on here, I entered the hobby during the junk-wax mania and bought new factory sets and "special" sets (Donruss Opening Day, Donruss Baseball's Best, anyone?) because the older cards were permanently out of reach. Things to gaze at that sat in a display case, or to be owned only as detachable reprints from a glossy book my dad bought me. I eventually "outgrew" the hobby and never dreamt I'd be back in 20 years later.

I know I am a pretty small fish compared to many collectors, but to survey my collection now - to own all of the post-war rookies - Mantle! Mays! Aaron! - all of them! And on top of that, over half of the mythic T206 set, not to mention a bunch of other cards from the 30s, 40s and 50s - well, I never stop getting a thrill out of this fact. The 10 year-old collector in me is still alive and well and in disbelief that I grew up and is blessed enough to have the resources to afford an incredible collection of baseball cards that may as well have all cost a million dollars each back in the '80s. And that junior collector in me is also pretty thrilled that we finally have an '86 Donruss Canseco and '89 Ripken FF stashed away.