I was very interested in science in general as a kid. I bought myself a planisphere and star chart and then a particularly crappy little refractor. It was so bad that it put me off the whole idea of practical astronomy for years. If I'd known better I would have saved a bit more for a decent pair of binocs.
I took up visual astronomy in my thirties once my own kids were old enough to be interested. Their interest didn't last and life got busy again so I put astronomy on hold for a while. I did buy some nice books during this phase that seem to be quite rare now
Fast forward a couple of decades... a neighbour who is a teacher asked if he could borrow some astronomy books. That rekindled my interest a little so I did some web surfing and discovered that the state of the art in astro imaging was quite amazing! I read a bunch of stuff and started buying imaging gear, starting with a secondhand Tak FSQ-106ED. I think I'll stay with it this time. I finally have the right combination of disposable income and free time to enjoy the hobby that appealed to me so much as a child.
Cheers,
Rick.