Home Movies

Recently Padre got a new toy. It converts VHS tapes to computer files. This means that the drawers of home videos from holidays, birthdays and kids-without-cable entertaining themselves, will never be lost. There are hours and hours of video. The cumbersome VHS format used to mean editing that took hours, or in our case, no editing at all.

Now, with this new toy, Padre can cut out the unwanted video from shaky children videographers and the camera being left on, to the hours of taping nothing just for the novelty of the technology.

When I was home last weekend I got to see just two of the videos. When I first saw myself, it was hard not to cringe. I was immediately thrown back into the self consciousness that plagues all kids as a certain age. YUCK, you couldn’t pay me to go back.

Once I got past that emotional baggage, we laughed until we almost peed. There is one scene where Monkers is INTERROGATING on of my aunt’s boyfriends. The questions she asked him on camera included, but were not limited to: “Where do you live?” “ Is that your real hair?” and “Where did you learn to talk like that?” He was British. Oh what he must have thought. We didn’t see him after that.

And I wasn’t the only one cringing after seeing my younger self. The early 90’s style with the baggy clothes, made even the size four momma T look big. And then there were the glasses, the kind that took over someone’s face. I’m not talking about the classic Jackie O style sunglasses. I’m referring to the everyday glasses that went from hairline to lip. WHAT WAS THAT?

Then there are the flashes of the unguarded character. That split second that Momma T got mad and you could see her angry face flash before she remembered this was being recorded. The times I was so mad, I didn’t care that the roll of my eyes would be captured forever.

I highly recommend you take some time this winter (cause it’s cold and there is nothing else to do) and revisit your old videos. You’ll be in for a laugh or two, I promise.

PS, there is a chance that some of these awful, embarrassing videos might re-surface around my b-day. IF so, don’t laugh TOO hard.