Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Nostalgia

Several months ago, I donated an old amoire that took up way too much room in our little home.  Before dropping it off at Goodwill, I cleaned it out and found all sorts of stuff I hadn't seen in years.

I found lots of old VHS tapes.  Some were from way back, some from not so very long ago.  Some were labeled, some were not.  But none of them could be viewed because we no longer even have a VHS player.

I knew of this little place called U-Edit, that I had used to convert old cassette tapes into CDs.  When I got the CDs back, I got to hear audio of a 6-year-old version of myself singing "Boogie on Reggae Woman", "The Way We Were", and lots of my other then favorites.

When we had Mom's memorial service, we used U-Edit again to put pictures and video clips of her together with music.  It turned out really nice.

So when I wanted to convert these tapes into something viewable, I knew just where to go.

Their prices are pretty fair, and they get even more fair if you're willing to wait and not rush the job. So to save money, I took the slowest route.  I paid my deposit, thanked them in advance, walked out the door and forgot about it.

Until this week, which happens to be the week of my birthday, I got a call that my DVDs were ready for pick up!
 Now I've got loads of good home videos to watch.  With some of these tapes, I know what to expect.  But with others~... no idea.  All sorts of gifts, and some of them will be surprises.  I'm so excited to watch them.  But honestly, a little emotional and almost scared about them, too.  I know I'm going to see video of Mom when she was alive.  I haven't seen a moving visual of her since her memorial service.  Although I have a copy of the DVD we used at her service, I haven't been able to watch it again since that day.

Maybe now is the perfect time for a little nostalgia--

16 comments:

Kolleen said...

maybe now IS the time....

wishing you joy as you watch what comes your way.
wishing you peace as you watch those that may bring sadness...
let the tears fall...
it's okay!

sending you a hug and loves
xoxo
k

Robin Norgren, M.A, R-YT, Spiritual Director said...

what a lovely birthday present! Happy birthday BIRTHDAY TWIN! MY BIRTHDAY IS ALSO June 24!

TBM said...

Happy Birthday! Hoping you find love and comfort as you watch your DVDs :-)

malia said...

how wonderful... and what an amazing gift

Unknown said...

Oh, that is really serendipitous! I hope you enjoy the videos, that sounds like fun (and yes, emotional, too). XO!

and flowers pick themselves said...

i love finding unexpected treasures from the past. wonderful post!

xo Alison

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a find!

And how cool to be ready by your birthday. Is it really on the 24th like Robin said above. My baby sister's birthday is on the 24th!

Ugh, reminds me... I need to get a card.

Hope you have a happy, happy birthday!

Rob

M2BM said...

Pictures (moving or still) are such great affirming witnesses to our lives. I hope they give you a big hug watching them.

btw...i loove asheville 2. it is my favorite place on the planet right now. i cant even tell you...the people, food, art, and the views OMG!!!

HowtoBEaCOOLoldLady said...

wow. how cool. I wonder if they have something like that in Brighton!

Anonymous said...

Oh my... I don't have a voice recording or moving visual of my mother, but I wish I did to share with my kids. I hope your time watching your videos wasn't too bittersweet.

Jodene Shaw said...

Oh...prayers to you Kerri. What a bittersweet time and gift. Bittersweet can be rich . . . may you have laughter and tenderness amidst possible tears.

grace
~jodi shaw

Kolleen said...

popping back over to wish you a happy and magical birthday!

hugs
xo
k

Kelly Warren said...

get you some tissues and enjoy those dvd's. and maybe a big bowl of ice cream. sending hugs to you and emailing you.

Heather B. said...

What an amazing gift to receive on your birthday week. Happy Birthday and Enjoy!

Jess said...

Hi Kerri, wow you're in for some emotional times! I love to see old films of the family even if I've seen them before, such precious moments. Thanks for your sweet comments I really appreciate it. xx

Kerri said...

thank you all so much. i've now watched a couple of the videos, and Mom was in just a bit of one. i found myself just laughing and loving watching us together. i didn't cry, which surprised me and made me realize, i've come a long way in just the 5 years since i've lost her.

what a gift those dvds are. treasured!!!

anyway, i just love getting everybody's sweet comments and cannot tell you how much i appreciate your words!