OLD Home Movies & Ghosts of Christmas Past

For many years I’ve been delaying doing something I really wanted to do; transferring my very old, well okay, archaic, 8mm movies to DVD. I recall first looking into the transferring process back when it would have been put on VHS. It was very expensive, especially when you have reels upon reels of the stuff. So, it was one of those things that had to be put on a backburner because I could never justify the cost. It’s gone down some over the years, but last time I checked several years back it still seemed like for the amount of film I had it would just be too steep and after all, we did still have an old movie projector that worked. Even though it was more than a pain to operate, we’d haul it out every so many years and show some movies. 

When my mom was here over Thanksgiving we attempted to fire up the old projector and show some of these priceless films only to discover the old projector had given up. The hubby convinced me to check into transferring again making the point that some of the films were already forty *cough* years old! Over time the film degrades and once it’s gone, it’s gone, so being something so irreplaceable I decided to just get it done. To my delight, it actually was not nearly as costly as I’d feared. 

The first batch came back and the DVD was filled with Christmases, birthdays and other events of me beginning at around age 2. I teared up when I saw long, lost relatives; my maternal grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even my father, all gone now but there they were on the screen. It was really awesome.

So I’d like to share a little clip with you.

Of course there was no sound back then (something that seems so odd to us today!) but I am so thankful to even have just the video. Those happy family moments are very much cherished. As I continue to make my own happy moments now within my family, I realize just how precious they are. I could write a lengthy and rather sobering post about issues regarding family members who don’t bother to keep in touch or put a priority on getting together or who are just plain unkind. But I won’t go into that because it’s not worth it. As both the hubby and I have learned, particularly with regard to family, you cannot change the way people choose to act towards you, you can only choose how you react to it. As much as it’s painful when some family behave as though they simply “don’t care”, just as with any negative in life, whether it’s a habit, a situation, or even a relationship, you simply have to remove yourself from it. Life is far too short for negativity regardless of where or who it’s coming from.

So as I see these old home movies, I remember the joy and cherish the memories with fondness. And I choose to keep that joy within me and share it with all those who are close to me and who truly have my heart.