“Do you know what a VHS is?” I asked Baylee.
“It’s the thing you put into a VCR. The horror games use them to give it an old, creepy vibe.” Thanks, video games.
I have a box of VHS tapes, some small that require an adapter, some full-size, and they’re all in a box in my closet. There are some as old as twenty-seven, and they’re loaded with weddings and births and Christmas mornings.
I just ordered a VCR so I can use an adapter I have to convert them all to digital, and even DVDs which I will hold in my safe.
Although this will be an emotional process, I am looking forward to it. I still don’t like to look at videos of Roger, we all know that, but I also don’t like seeing my Nana, old pups and cats we’ve lost, and even the homes we once lived in. I haven’t mastered enjoying those moments versus missing them. I really haven’t tried, either.
The photos are one thing, almost like little pieces of art, and we can imagine the subjects next move to be what we want it, but in a moving video, it’s real.
I was going to do this for Memorial Day, but the VCR won’t get here in time. It’ll be a long process since I have many hours, maybe days, worth of footage. I only hope they’re all still in really great shape so I can provide the boys with some really cool keepsakes to show their own kids, some very embarrassing moments for us all, and maybe some of it will really make me laugh.
Teresa Forester Adams 