Living in the Moment

Almost a year ago, my husband started to ask about my dad's time in the navy.  I remembered as a child watching footage he took during that time of 1967-1971.  He had toured Europe and had himself a good time.   He took videos with his Super 8 movie camera that does not record sound.  Talking about it, made me remember he had family movies too.  It became a goal to get my family together and view them.  It finally happened a few weeks ago and was a dream come true.  None of the footage had been viewed for almost thirty years, some of it only filmed and never seen. 

 I saw my grandparents in a whole new light.  By the time I was five, their lives had drastically changed.  In the film, I saw them vibrant and happy...and dancing?  My family doesn't dance...does it?  They were cutting a rug quite enthusiastically and then...my parents join in?  What parallel universe is this?  Perhaps your relatives are the same people they were thirty years ago.  Perhaps it's easy for you to imagine your mom at Woodstock because she still has her love beads.  Well, people in my family have changed or changed then passed away.  I was living in their moment of happiness.  Seeing their familiar faces on video made me feel like I was there with them, in the house I remember visiting as a child.  Then when the reel would end, and the lights go on, reality set in.  It made me feel robbed of them, of not knowing them at a time they were happy.

My family actually came a second time this week to view what we thought were the navy videos.  None of them are labeled,  so we never knew what was coming next.  Here, they were more family videos my parents don't even remember taking.  What a treat!  They featured a trip to Canada, our family going to Strasburg Railroad, Dutch Wonderland, and my cousins when Sean was a toddler and Kim and I as babies.  What was the best was seeing my parents wedding.  To see relatives I loved so much on either side of the family talking outside after the ceremony was very surreal. 

We'll have to wait till next time to see those Navy videos.  One thing I wish was on those reels was my dad meeting Jackie Kennedy and her children.  They came on board the day of the christening of the ship because it was named in honor of JFK.  I'm just so thrilled these films have withstood the test of time and were kept safe from harm.  Seeing these videos has been a bonding experience for us I never thought would happen.  Do you know of any old videos of your family?  Grab a relative and a movie projector (or buy one on eBay) and watch one.  You might learn something about yourself in the process.