You never know what you might find under the stairs...

With our daughter approaching her first birthday later this month, I took to the basement over the weekend on a search for "next stage" toys. As our son outgrew blocks, books and various means of mobility, I faithfully stored them away in a crawlspace under the stairs. And, there I was - six years later, wishing I had stored the items first-stages, inward...

There, amongst the toys, were two large Tupperware containers that I had put away at some point over the past decade. They were heavy, so I slid them out of the darkness toward the naked bulb in the middle of the space. Lifting the lid I was surprised to find a treasure trove of old Phillies programs. Most dated from the late-1990s and early-2000s - Randy Wolf, Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Ron Gant... But there were also several from the first games I attended at Veterans Stadium in 1983.

Though I hadn't seen them for several years, they were instantly familiar - as these earliest remnants of my collection have well worn covers and dog-eared pages marking pages featuring Mike Schmidt. I don't remember much about those games during the 1983-85 seasons, but the programs prove "I was there!"

I'm going to keep the containers under the stairs, but this time keep them a little closer to the door for easier access...