The return: an ode to baseball cards

I'm back, baseball cards
I've missed you these last four days
Four days without viewing a single one of you
In person or online
I missed my baseball cards

It amazes me how empty life is without you
Simple pieces of cardboard with pictures
Silly, really
There is longing and craving
Over disposable items
Because I miss my baseball cards

Life went on
While you were so many miles away
The conversation turned
To more mundane matters
But I missed my baseball cards

The turkey wasn't as tasty as I remembered
Although stuffing hit the spot
Marshmallowed-sweet potatoes were controversial
Pie for breakfast wonderful
But I missed my baseball cards

I busied myself with diversions
Day-glo bowling balls and a free piece of pizza
My niece's fingernails painted to resemble Pac-Man characters
Mocking pre-Black Friday shoppers
But I still missed my baseball cards

The high school reunion almost did the trick
My collecting buddy in school hadn't bought cards since 1989
But still has 300,000 he wants to sell
Did I know someone who wanted to buy them?
How I miss my baseball cards

It was interesting catching up
Finding out a good friend nearly died last year
Exchanging child-raising nightmare stories with the hottest girl in class
Hearing that a former teacher killed himself in jail
Fascinating, but not as fascinating as baseball cards

I discovered how much football I can watch
The maximum is two games and two quarters
Then I returned for the Steelers-Ravens finale
To see the final minute last 30 minutes
I miss baseball and baseball cards

I could have spent so much time with my cards
But instead I drove through a white-out
Walked willingly through a scary part of town
And ate at a delicious Italian restaurant
Sometimes the choices we make don't include cards

I wonder if this is what life will become
Will I be like my friend who stopped collecting 25 years ago?
Will I be like my brother who now considers cards a fool's hobby?
These four days are like a test, of a future existence
But I don't want to find out because I miss my cards

Thanks for the cards, Max, this one is tiffany I can tell
I'm back among them now
Complaining about dirt on the scanner
And a backlog of blog posts to read
But I'm actually happy. Because I have my cards