What's the most expensive thing you broke as a kid and what's the story behind it?
Mine was our CRT TV. I would rapidly push the power button on and off because I thought the picture coming and going looked cool but eventually it fell inside of the TV. I think I later stuck a magnet on the TV.
Not looking for Reddit answers like "My parent's marriage"
I didn't break something expensive in terms of dollar amount, but my Mom knits. In high school she asked me to do the laundry for her while she was out of town. I knew sweaters went in the delicate cycle, but what I DIDN'T know is even the delicate cycle was too much for her very nice, hand knit, cashmere sweater that fit her perfectly.
It came out felted and 2 sizes smaller. And I felt HORRIBLE then. Now, I'm all grown up and I've learned how to knit myself. Now I think back on that and marvel that I'm still alive and she didn't come home and just bury me in the backyard. That's how I know she loves me. <3
I feel like, depending on your age at the time, this is more on her than you. I’m an adult, and I don’t buy myself clothes that can’t handle the normal setting on my washer and dryer. I know it would be a case of when, not if, I’d forget. No way I’d trust a child to pay attention to something like that.
So in her defense (and another aspect of why she didn't murder me I'm sure.) Is that she'd forgotten entirely that she even wore that sweater. Apparently it always sits on the edge of her hamper so she visually sees it and removes it to her special wash bag for extremely fancy clothes. But she'd left town in a bit of a hurry for family matters and I'd even volunteered to do laundry. I didn't realize that sweater was extra special on my own.
That "on the side of the hamper" method is what I use for my extremely delicate stuff now, and so far I haven't shrunk anything. yet
Sadly I was never able to perfectly recreate that cashmere sweater, though I came close. Getting perfect gauge is really hard to do on fitted garments for knitting. Mom had wanted me to learn to knit since I was really little but it never caught my interest until I was an adult. Through the pandemic we did work together to knit a modular blanket and sewed it together once we could meet up in person again! https://imgur.com/a/u4M4ynb