I own a book worth up to $400.

This book right here: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish and published as a first edition in 1910.

*blink-blink-blink*

It was a gift from my late Uncle Tom, who was so pleased when I squeed upon seeing the book that he gave it to me on the spot.

Y'know...I always said that if I had something worth that much money, I'd sell it in a heartbeat.

However, I just realized something: There is no fucking way I'm parting with this book.

I love this book. I love how worn it is. I love it came from my weird Uncle Tom who had completely no notion of the worth of things and would give me a well-loved book from his childhood just because my adult self made squeeing sounds when I saw the cover.

Suck it. It's staying on my shelf. They can pry that puppy out of my library over my cold, dead body.

This same weird Uncle Tom also gave me a Royal Dalton tea set from the late 1800s just because I like tea and he wanted to cheer me up. It was given to me on the understanding that I would actually use it to make and enjoy tea.

The original owner? President Grover Cleveland's first cousin.

And yes, I actually do use it to make tea. I use the tea cups and the saucers, too. It can't make herbal tea worth a damn, but if I want a black tea? The pot makes black teas taste like pure heaven.

So...

To you my darling, weird Uncle Tom (wheresoever your soul may currently be), for not just your fantastic parting gifts, but also for giving me links to the past that can't be bought or sold.