It was a typical Saturday afternoon in July at the Smith household. Billy Smith, 11, was going through his growing collection of baseball cards, examining each one closely and putting them into protective plastic sleeves to keep them safe. His younger brother Tommy, 9, was watching cartoons, not really paying attention to what Billy was doing. Billy’s dad Jerry was in the kitchen making lunch for the family.
As Billy was organizing his cards by team, era, and player position, he came across a pack of cards he had recently gotten from the drugstore that he had not opened yet. The shiny wrapping beckoned him to tear it open and see what players from the current season he may have pulled. But Billy hesitated, knowing that once he broke the seal on the pack it could not go back to its original state.
He stared at the pack, weighing his options. On one hand, he was excited to see which new stars or future Hall of Famers may be waiting inside. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to damage the packaging or risk damaging any of the precious cardboard treasures within before properly storing them away for safekeeping. Billy had become quite the completionist when it came to growing his collection over the past few years, and opening packs willy nilly could compromise that.
Meanwhile, Tommy had grown bored with his cartoons and wandered over to see what Billy was up to. “Are you gonna open that pack or what?” Tommy asked impatiently. Billy ignored him, lost in his internal debate. Tommy had never displayed the same patient reverence for the hobby that Billy embraced. To Tommy, cards were meant to be opened and played with, not meticulously filed away or kept pristine on a shelf.
Growing more annoyed by Billy’s hesitation, Tommy grabbed the pack out of Billy’s hand. “Give it here, I’ll open it for you since you’re being such a wimp,” Tommy declared. This snapped Billy out of his trance. “No, give it back!” he shouted as he lunged for the pack. But Tommy was too quick and had already started shredding away at the wrapper. In a matter of seconds the foil was off and Tommy was fanning through the cards inside with his chubby fingers.
“Stop that!” Billy yelled, reaching again for the spoils but Tommy held them just out of reach while continuing to rummage through them, not noticing or caring that he was potentially damaging the goods in his quest to irritate his brother further. Their dad Jerry heard the commotion from down the hall and came into the living room to see what all the fuss was about.
“Boys, is everything okay in here?” Jerry asked with concern. When he saw the torn wrapping on the floor and cards spreading across it, he knew immediately what had transpired. Billy looked desperately distressed while Tommy had a satisfied smirk, still waving the pilfered cards tauntingly.
“Tommy, give those back to your brother right now. You know better than to take things that don’t belong to you,” Jerry said sternly. Tommy begrudgingly handed over the cards, looking crestfallen at being caught. Billy snatched them protectively to his chest and started scrutinizing each one for bends or damages from Tommy’s impatience, breathing a slight sigh of relief when he found them all intact.
Jerry turned to Tommy. “You need to apologize to Billy for ruining the surprise of opening his pack and potentially harming his collection. And no television for the rest of the day as punishment.” Tommy muttered a halfhearted “sorry” to Billy before sulking off to his room in a huff. Jerry then turned his attention to Billy.
“I know those cards mean a lot to you son, but you also need to learn not to be afraid to enjoy them occasionally too,” Jerry said gently. “Maybe next time wait until we’re all together so we can open it as a family experience. That way there’s no argument about who gets to see what cards first.” Billy nodded thoughtfully, still too angry at Tommy to acknowledge the wisdom in his dad’s words just yet. But he would remember this advice going forward.
From that day on, Billy made a point to open new packs only when the whole family was home on weekends so they could all share in the surprise and appreciation together. Tommy still didn’t always show the same level of care, but started to understand more why the cards were special to his brother as he got a little older. And their dad was right – enjoying the cards as a bonding activity brought them even closer as siblings despite the occasional squabble that was sure to come with any sibling rivalry. The family hobby helped keep them connected for many years to come.
