How I Do It: Remembering the Memories
Always have your video camera charged and nearby. Recording big milestones is the most important thing I feel like I can do to, to savor so many memories I have, of my quickly growing children. There are so many times when I think, oh, I’m definitely going to remember that moment forever, but as time goes by, memories do fade. It’s no secret that I love to take pictures, but it still doesn’t do justice to actual footage. I feel like when you record little segments every so often, it gives you (and your children when they’re older) a glimpse into how they used to be, their mannerisms, their ever-changing personalities, etc. I just think it’s really neat.
Learning by example. My parents always recorded big events, and other random moments too (first day of school, first time on the school bus, etc.). I love looking back at them, especially when my sisters are around, and we can reminisce. My mom also did a wonderful job of organizing the tapes, even changing them over to DVDs for us (her six girls), and giving us all a set. One thing she has always said is to use our old video camera, and we do. I feel like with the little clips we get on our iPhones, while they’re great, sometimes they get lost in the computer, amongst photos, and it’s hard to find them at times. I know it’s odd that we still use our older camera, with the small tapes, that I know I’ll have to eventually change over to DVDs, but it’s great that it’s one continuous reel. So we may record three minutes here, then four minutes there, but when you watch it, it’s so neat to see all of the segments altogether.
Don’t over-record. One thing’s for sure, DO NOT record for longer than thirty minutes, especially if it’s a sporting event. Those are the worst. You enjoy seeing yourself the first time hitting the ball in t-ball, but after watching yourself get up to bat for the sixth time, it gets old. I must admit, we have so much more footage of W, than we do of any of our three others right now. But it was the fact that she was our first, and I had so much more free time to record her every little milestone/movement. Now, life is busy, but I never make it too busy to forget about the video camera. Even just a short clip of little V’s face, or his laugh, which is so wonderful to hear now, it will be that much sweeter when I listen to his sweet little giggle when I’m older, and he is too.
Christmas Eve 2012
A really cool, simple Christmas tradition. Every Christmas Eve, ever since I was a young girl, my parents would record us hanging our stockings. While it seems like such a sweet, short clip, my parents made it into something more special, and we still enjoy doing it to this day, and will also continue the tradition with our growing families. My dad would set up the camera on his tripod, and have each of us, one at a time, stand in front of the fireplace with our stocking, and he and my mom would ask us questions (never rehearsed or written down, always questions off the top of their heads). Some questions were simple, “What’s your favorite color? Who are some of your friends? What school do you go to?” Even those were neat to see, how our answers changed from year to year. Other questions consisted of “Who’s your boyfriend?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “What big event in your life happened this year?” “Who are you going to marry?” I’m sure you can imagine the chattering and giggling from the other sisters, as questions were asked and answered. Many times the peanut gallery would go too far, and either something was edited out (a huge fight broke out), or the camera was shut off for a moment (“Turn that thing off for a second!”), so we could regain our composure, sometimes after being disciplined. Whatever the footage was, it was hilarious, and we still love looking back at old videos, and watching ourselves at different ages. Sometimes we were way too cool for it (“Daddy, hurry up, I don’t want to do this anymore!”). Other times we were spastic, and couldn’t stop being goofy. Whatever it was that year, it was something we’d cherish. Not only was this just a fun annual tradition, it also connected us to each other, and made our family closer, as I’m sure it would for your family too. Oh, and the best part, was after we answered our questions, we each had to sing a Christmas Carol, before hanging up our stocking on the mantle. The younger years of the songs were the sweetest. And the finale is always all of us standing in front of the camera and singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas!”
I hope y’all are having a great start to your week! I’ve got a girl’s night tonight, that’s long overdue. Can’t wait to catch up with good friends, over some yummy wine.
I love this! Our children love our old videos; we watch them a lot and always on Christmas Eve. It is a tradition. They are so easy to watch now that we have them on DVD. It is so fun to see and remember their little personalities.
I also have the taller boots and have been thinking about the short ones – I think they would look adorable and would be a little easier for me to put on (I have big calves) as well as more versatile
Love the stocking idea. I am the worst about recording Sterling we have like no videos. I need to get better!
Great advice about recording the memories! I found that I took A LOT of pictures when my kids were little but now that they are in middle school, high school, and college, I don't take nearly as many. The time is flying be even faster these days and I need to do a better job of capturing the moments and taking pictures!