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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/DangerousDog9318 on 2025-12-06 01:20:22+00:00.
Obligatory this happened three days ago. For some background, I (27f) have been collecting dragon figurines (and other assorted dragon themed items) since I was 5 years old. I've lost count but I know I have amassed well over 100 at this point. Quite a few are gifts or souvenirs.
Three days ago, on impulse, I decided to swap my hobby room with my bedroom, as I needed more space for hobbies but don't need much space to sleep. In this hobby room, I have (well, had) a shelf that held 35 of my most sentimental figures hanging on the wall about 3 inches from the door.
By the point the fuck up happened, I had already moved most of the furniture from the small room to the big room. No this did not include the shelf. Final task for the night was to move my queen bed into the small room and get some sleep.
I got the low profile frame in with no issue. Next steps were to move the bed board in and then the mattress.
As I was entering the room with the bed board, I looked at the shelf and thought to myself "I should probably move those somewhere safe... naaahhh I have plenty of space to maneuver this."
Approximately 2 seconds later the board knocks the bottom of the shelf and bam, 35 of my most prized possessions - including both genuine jade and genuine murano glass figures - plummet nearly six feet to the ground. Over 20 years of memories, gone in an instant. At least that's what it felt like at the time.
After I took some time to collect myself and ask for help, I was finally able to look at the disaster. As my friend (27f) and I were cleaning up the remains, she asked me about each dragon's story. The rest of the evening turned to story time, gluing, and cleaning glass from carpet.
The good news is that of the 35 dragons, only 7 shattered beyond repair. A few even came through completely unscathed. Of the 7 shattered dragons, I was able to find exact versions of 4 online. Of the remaining 3, 2 were gifts from folks I still talk to, so I can still get a similar sentiment out of whatever dragons they choose to gift next. The only dragon I can't replace was from Texas so is that really a loss?
I plan to make some art with the shards and some epoxy so I can still keep the originals around.
Here is a link to before and after pics for those interested:
TL;DR: I nearly destroyed a collection 20 years in the making because I was too impatient to relocate it before moving a queen bed. Luckily the vast majority survived the fall or can be repaired and I will preserve the shattered ones in epoxy artwork.