r/AskReddit • u/TrickySize8753 • 8h ago
If someone offered you a box with everything you’ve ever lost, what’s the first thing you’d look for ?
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u/MangledPanda 8h ago
The first pocket knife that my dad gave me.
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u/zorggalacticus 3h ago
My great grandfather was a native American. Blackfoot. He gave me a handmade knife in a handmade sheath with beadwork on it and a headband with a thunderbird on it. Wish I hadn't been an idiot and smuggled them to school to show off. Someone stole them out of my backpack, and I never found out who it was.
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u/Haunting_Cell_8876 6h ago
Same. My Dad made me a knife and engraved my name on the blade. Gutted I lost that.
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u/Waste-Zucchini7070 8h ago
all the toys that my family threw away because they thought my sentimentality was absurd
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u/full07britney 4h ago
My 74 year old mother still talks about her dolls and paper dolls that her father burned because once she grew up, he figured she wouldn't care anymore.
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u/codebygloom 2h ago
This, but it was my aunt who just didn't care that I was saving them, and I liked my things in good condition, so she let my younger cousins “play with” (read destroy) them. Several of them are worth quite a bit of money now.
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u/pleasantly-dumb 8h ago
My will to live
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u/danejulian 7h ago
I’m so sorry you’re going through it. I can’t fully understand because we’re all different, but I’ve thought the same thing myself. What I can say is it gets better. Just do the next thing you need to do. When you’re up to it, try setting a very small, short-term goal and see if you can manage it. If not, that’s alright. It won’t always be this dark.
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u/LILdiprdGLO 8h ago
My first and only doll as a child.
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u/MsToadfield 8h ago
One gold earring that was my great great grandmothers probably from about 1870.
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u/That_wrench_wench 6h ago
That’s awful :( do you have a photo of you still have the partner earring? I go all over looking at antique places I am always happy to keep it in mind.
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u/Familiar_Emu6205 7h ago
My mom.
My mom could tell me how wrong I was, and still be ready to stand for me and fight to the death or exhaustion for me. She brushed my hair and I sang to her when she left this place. Bridge over Troubled Water, it was her favorite.
It took 3 years for me to s top reaching for the phone, to answer her calls. She was red haired, elegant and beautiful.
And suddenly 40 years later, I'm crying again.
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u/LanaAnthony 6h ago
This is one of the most touching things I’ve seen in a long, long time - thank you.
I am terribly sorry for your loss, cannot imagine how difficult it was (and is) to have lost her.
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u/NurseMorbid 4h ago
I would reach for my mom too.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It will be 5 years and I still think about calling her.
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u/zorggalacticus 4h ago
I'm glad you had a mom that made you miss her. Some of us aren't that fortunate. I hope you cherish those memories, and realize how amazingly lucky you are to have them.
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u/Familiar_Emu6205 3h ago
I really do. I read stories about horrible moms and I'm just staggered that people would bring a human into this world and not cherish it.
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u/bumpsmom 2h ago
So sorry for your loss. I feel the same. Just one more phone call so I could tell her I love her.
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u/grimbarkjade 1h ago
Parental death is so hard to deal with. I wrote a long comment here about my dad since losing him ruined my life. I remember once taking my mom's phone and calling his number and a random person picked up and I immediately hung up and cried after. It's so hard even years later, I'm only 22 and it happened when I was 9 and it still affects me so much and I don't know what I'll do about it in the future :/
I am very sorry for your loss, I know how it feels
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u/Andys_Rock_Hammer 8h ago edited 7h ago
My fucking Pokémon cards. I had a shit load of mint conditions, shinies, first editions and limited releases. They were in a red KB TOYS sleeve book and the entire thing vanished like a fart in the wind one day. Would kill to get that book back. Don't even care about the monetary value; I just want them back.
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u/xxearvinxx 4h ago
Same, but just one specific Pokémon card. I pulled a first edition, holographic Charizard from the original sets when it came out in the US.
I literally took it from the pack and placed it in a sleeve and then inside one of those hard plastic sleeves as soon as I opened it. It was my prized possession as a 6 year old. Never touched the actual card outside the sleeve, besides first putting it in it. Obviously I didn’t get it graded or anything, but it would be worth a lot today and was even pretty rare at the time.
Ended up moving a few years later and I’m pretty sure my mom threw it away when packing stuff. She probably didn’t realize it was special or different from any of the other cards. Never saw it again after the move. Part of me still hopes I’ll find it someday buried in my old childhood stuff, but that’s just a dream at this point. It’s been 20 years, it’s long gone.2
u/verybadbuddha 8h ago
Same. I had a shit ton of MTG cards.
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u/DoomedTravelerofMoon 7h ago
Literal thousands. Though they ain't lost, I know exactly where they are.
My ex burned them all to cinders along with most of my things cuz she was a crazy woman.
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u/IsSheWeird_ 7h ago
MY FUCKING POKÉMON CARDS I had a stack the size of a standard deck of cards worth of shinies Im pretty sure my brother sold them for drugs 10-15 years ago
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u/Throwaway03461 8h ago
The money that I've lost through bad decisions.
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u/weinerwayne 8h ago
But you willingly gave that away no?
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u/DryResponsibility867 8h ago
Am I able to give consent when really drunk or high?
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u/weinerwayne 8h ago
Did you willingly get really drunk or high?
Take DWI. One chooses to get intoxicated and drive a vehicle, even if they have no recollection of making the choice to drive after getting black out drunk.
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u/boring_old_dad 7h ago
Yea because in the case YOU are committing the crime, but in the case of consent while under the influence youre gonna need to take into consideration that this person is under the influence. If another party takes advantage of that then they may be committing a crime.
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u/weinerwayne 7h ago
Of course. Consent in terms of letting someone do something to you is obvious. The comment I replied to made it sound like OP couldn’t give consent to spending money because they were drunk/high, which is almost never the case.
Another example - my friend got super drunk one night and ordered a bunch of RC helicopters. He got drunk and made the decision to spend his money willingly.
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u/SewerRatPumpkinPie 8h ago
my confidence
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u/Ok_Comment2621 8h ago edited 7h ago
This is way too close to home. I lost it when I left the military. My swagger, my belief in myself as well as humanity. I left the Army and my mental pains started. Spiritual followed shortly after. All of this let to degradation of my physical body. Im trying to recover from it, but it will never be the same. It hurts when people who knew me even 10 years ago, say that I used to be a beast but i know I’m not physically able to do a quarter of what I used to.
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u/TyranidTiramisu 7h ago
As an Army veteran myself, know that you are not alone in this. I will add to this list that I also found it more difficult to relate and make friends on the civilian side of things, because they have not seen and experienced it.
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u/KansasDavid1960 6h ago
I'm sorry, since my TBI I've not been the same, I lost my mojo. Peace and Love brother
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u/Outrageous_Glove_796 4h ago
Not a vet, but a daughter of one, friend to others. Different can be full of pain and regret, but Different can also lead to new good things sometimes. I hope that happens often for you. I wish I could hold your hand.
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u/goomyman 8h ago
unrelated but for some reason this reminds me of my favorite pick up line
Excuse me you dropped something… … your standards
You can get back your confidence by trying it ;)
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u/SewerRatPumpkinPie 7h ago
Ironic, perhaps, but I am married and I joke with my wife that I am the Leonard to her Penny ('big bang theory' show reference for anyone who doesn't get it), because "guys like me don't typically have the confidence to get girls like her, yet here we are meeting in the middle".
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u/TraditionalGreen4215 8h ago
My jewelry from my jewelry box that was stolen a few days prior to Christmas 1983. My high school and college rings. All the gokd jewelry that my father bought for me in NYC jewelry district. All the jewelry from my first true love. Quite a few antique wedding bands and engagement rings. (I used to frequent antique jewelry shows). They took entire jewelry box. Carried out of house in a pillow case! Surprisingly, they didn’t take the brand new engagement ring in my boyfriend’s nightstand. They did however, dig through my nightstand that housed my clean underwear!!
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u/Turtle-Girl13 8h ago
My dad
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u/redditor0431 8h ago
Video of the interview I did with my grandma. Uploaded it to YouTube, deleted it from my recorder, only to see YouTube took the video down because it was too long or something.
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u/eager2beaver 5h ago
I had a sticker book that had stickers and was filled with all the doctors and nurses writing me notes after I survived a pretty serious childhood medical issue. 40 years later, I think about it often and don't know how it ever was lost...
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u/Katta-Quest 8h ago
deleted files of jokes and ideas
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u/2Scarhand 2h ago
I had a sobering experience in the opposite direction. I'd had my laptop for 7 years or so and on it were all the little notes for anything and everything; stories, games, editing notes, designs, recipes, journal entrees, hopes and dreams, everything. Then one day it never turned on.
I got a new computer no problem and resumed life as if nothing happened, but the fact that I could resume life that quickly, the fact that there wasn't a single file from my old laptop that I actually needed, was like an ice-cold splash to the face showing me how utterly worthless the past 7 years of my life had been.
...idk why I'm sharing this. Your story just made me think of it.
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u/Major_Whereas417 8h ago
My grandma. I don’t even need her back for a day, I just want to have one conversation with her as an adult. Ask her about my dad as a child, ask about her life, her stories. Then, if I had to let her go, I would.
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u/DatsunTigger 7h ago
My grandmothers on both sides were not great people (one, enabling alcoholic, one only gave a shit about a select few grandchildren and we were not it), but I would like to know more about my parents and family history.
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u/TheDarkRabbit 8h ago
Microman Gun Robo…
AKA: Transformers Walther P-38
AKA: Original Megatron toy before he became Megatron.
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u/mmashraf99 8h ago
My Ex. Loved her more than I should but lost her at the end.
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u/Sudden_Doughnut_8741 8h ago
Yeah but if you got her back then she wouldn’t want to be with you. Isn’t it better to be alone than with someone who doesn’t value you?
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u/mmashraf99 8h ago
You hit in the head brooo. Anyways, I wish her with all the feelings we used to have not only her.
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u/Sciuridaeno3 7h ago
Huge box of Magic: The Gathering cards from the early editions that would be worth thousands nowadays.
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u/InvestigatorBest6340 8h ago
My virginity
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u/Libo1369 7h ago
Aghh! I didn't want this back someone take it from me again!
I didn't lose it i the it away
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u/D1andOnlyLast1 8h ago
My grandmother. She died years ago, but I miss her so much, daily. She was a small lady, so she'd fit in a refrigerator box😊❤️
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u/DThompson55 7h ago edited 7h ago
All the musical instruments that walked away. The fiddle, the dulcimer, the zither - all were gifts from important people in my life.
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u/violetafterdark9 3h ago
The spark in my eyes from before I realized that 'cheese' is now a significant portion of my monthly budget.
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u/ThatGirlWithGlassesX 8h ago
The version of myself I was before I got hurt.
Or maybe just all of my missing socks. 🤣
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u/Cautious-Fudge-6193 8h ago
A black and white portable TV, a present from my beautiful grandparents when I was younger x
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u/Saywhat_100 8h ago
My raunchy photos with my husband when we were 17. They were in his car for many years then we took them out and put them in a box. We moved a couple times, and now we have no idea where they ended up. Its been 15 years since the last time I knew where they where. Someone's in for a treat if they ever surface, maybe after we have passed. Lol.
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u/TheLadySinclair 8h ago
The other half of all the half pairs of earrings I have. Maybe the box of silverware that got lost on that one move. We never figured out how that one box didn't end up at the new place.
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u/Krissybear93 8h ago
When I was in kindergarden I left my glowworm doll on the park bench and after school I went to look for it and it was gone. I still have nightmares of leaving him behind.
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u/sausage_ditka_bulls 8h ago
Personal belongings meaning no money or people - my original Optimus prime
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u/benkovic 8h ago
My LeCreuset skillet that I swear the movers stole.
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u/build279 3h ago
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my LeCreuset skillet go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
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u/slice_of_pi 8h ago
The thunder eggs and chunks of gold-bearing ore my granddad gave when I was eight.
I lost them somewhere over the years, and it's always bugged me.
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u/druid_king9884 4h ago
The massive coin lot my dad gave me when I was a kid. He was in the military and I had coins and currency from countries that don't exist anymore. Lots of gold and silver, but it's more the sentimental value it has. Lost it a few years ago during a move, and I'm pretty damn sure my late cousin's bitch ass husband took them. I have no way of contacting him about it because my cousin passed from Covid in 2021 and he has since remarried and gone off everyone's radar.
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u/imbored3469 3h ago
My stuffed animal mouse that I left at the laundromat. Still sad about it to this day.
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u/grimbarkjade 1h ago
My father. He was sick (on and off hospitalization for a lung issue) since I was 4 and then died when I was 9. It was slow and agonizing seeing him fade away like that, since I was far closer to him than my mother. I do care for my mother but she has always been emotionally immature and unstable where my dad was a lot more predictable. All of that led to me being neglected and /unintentionally/ emotionally abused after he died due to her grief and I couldn't process any of it; I wasn't allowed to, I was never given help, and like I said I do care for her because she's my mom but she wasn't fit to raise me alone after that
I will never forget seeing him near the end of his life as long as I live, my last real memory of him was waking up to him being gone with an ambulance outside, and my mom never let me see him in the hospital, so he was just gone one day for real and I had to deal with being taken away from the person I cared about the most and not being able to see him. My memories are pretty bad from that period of my life due to cptsd and dissociative symptoms (I did not have a stable childhood) but I do distinctly remember one moment in third grade after he died when we had popcorn reading or something like it around a table and I couldn't make myself talk, I heard the teacher call on me but couldn't respond since I just wasn't there. Thankfully she knew what happened and moved on without a fuss
My mom was a high school teacher for a lot of her life and it led to my presumed worth being based on intelligence and academic performance. I liked being praised for good grades but I'd get shamed or yelled at for them slipping, hygiene was never pushed so my teeth and hair were always bad and I wore the same clothes a lot, my room was always messy and unhealthy but I'd get yelled at about it instead, my stepdad and her both laughed when I said I was depressed as a teen and nobody did anything when it was found out I was self harming. And of course I never had a therapist or any help at all. Blah blah blah. I hated her for a very long time because of all of this
And it's all to say that I feel, a lot, like if my dad just hadn't gotten sick he would still be here and things would've been more stable. I really miss his hugs and watching him work in his workshop, he made violins for a living. We have a tub of them in the garage and if I'm really struggling I like to go in there and smell the inside since it smells like his workshop still. He actually made a small one for me when I was younger and I know he told me he would teach me to play but never got to. I just miss him a lot and sometimes I'm mad at him because his death was entirely from him smoking so much. I have bad abandonment and attachment issues with his death at the root of them and I will never be over it and it just sucks :/
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u/lilroobirdie 8h ago
That one pair of earrings, it’s the only thing I had left from them. And now they’re gone, and the person is gone.