Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Be Kind and Rewind

Pardon me while I reminisce for a moment.

Does anyone out there recall the days before we had such modern conveniences as cell phones and digital cameras, equipped with the ability to record?  Yeah, those days.  Some of us actually lived that long ago, in the dark ages.

We had large, cumbersome video recorders, capable of breaking your back if you had to hold them long enough.  You would insert a book-sized, rectangular tape into the device and tape whatever was happening in your life, like getting married, having babies, bathing babies, capturing first steps, words, birthdays and in our case, skating.  Lots of skating.

Over two decades ago, my kids were roller skaters.  We practically lived at the rink.  Thankfully, it was something the entire family could be involved in and we were somewhat able to keep everyone in one place, without rushing all over heck and half of Georgia, to have them involved in multiple activities.  It worked out pretty well and I stayed equally busy as a coach.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I were discussing ring tones for my cell phone.  The topic of their old skating music came up.  We could not remember the opening piece of music from one of the routines my second son skated to and we did something I hardly ever have the heart to do.  We got out the old skating tapes and she hooked up an old VCR and we took a trip down memory lane.

Since lightning took out my 60" television and we haven't replaced it, I used my camera to record off our old set.  This is my daughter, who had just turned 7, skating at a regional meet.  Talk about looking nostalgic, this does.  For some reason, recording it with my camera made it look worse than it actually did watching on the old television set.  It's complete with a nervous Daddy, not only taping, but also shouting encouraging comments to his baby girl.

I'm not sure how long I will leave this post up.  Seeing this still makes my heart race and makes me just as nervous now, as it did all those years ago, when my babies took the floor.  In fact, it's pounding now as I contemplate sharing it with you.  (You will need to turn up your sound)



 

50 comments:

Gigi said...

That was amazing! Thanks for sharing it.

mamahasspoken said...

Very talented girl there especially since I was lucky to go forward on skates, let alone backward, one skate, jump, twirl, etc. She was great!
Did you know you can have those old VHS tapes turn into a CDs? Then you can watch them on your computer and you can go down memory lane without as much effort.

Copyboy said...

OMG!!!! That's amazing!!!! I'm making you blog of the day. No questions asked.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Awesome video... Aren't you all glad that you have that old video of your daughter? I loved hearing Daddy hollering his words of encouragement... Thanks for sharing.
Hugs,
Betsy

NCmountainwoman said...

I saw a few seconds of he video followed by a screen that said, "This video is currently not available. Please try again later." So I will try later.

Who would have guessed back then that we would be able to make videos with our cell phones?

CiCi said...

I didn't know someone so young skated so well. I know you are delighted to have the tapes of your children skating, and all the memories that go with them. I enjoyed watching this immensely. Thanks for putting it up and letting us see it.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

nothin' here.

Memedee251 said...

I guess I got here too late. When I clicked on it, I got a message that this video wasn't available. Sorry I missed it.

Outcast said...

Awesome stuff, I bet you guys do miss those cool things that were huge like that, amazing video.

Meme said...

"Come on, baby!" What a proud daddy. Oh, this brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. She was a fab skater!

Sally said...

I can't watch video's on my computer, but I do know how nostalgia would set in for you seeing these after many years. Oh yes, we had one of those big video camera's. The funny thing, now that you can make a video on the phones, I haven't seen but one or two that Brittney made.

Hope you're having a really good day. :)

George said...

Thank you for sharing your memories and this video with us. I think this is the first dance routine on roller skates that I've seen. Your daughter is very talented and I could hear the pride in your husband's encouragements.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

This was adorable!

Lori G said...

OH MY GOSH!!!
How Beautiful!!! You are nervous & I am in tears! Please leave the entire post & video. Oh my....What wonderful & blessed Children you have & they blessed with You & Hubby. The more I learn about You the more I Love about You! Thank you for sharing such a private & moving moment in time. It's so Wonderful (thank your Family too). I have to go and watch it again.... ♥

Megan Adamson said...

Wow, that was just fantastic! She is so talented. We are used to ice-skating and never thought of doing anything else with roller-skates.
Yes, you should put them onto D.V.D.
my new recorder already converts, although I must admit to having a few old videos that don't play well on it.

Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell said...

I didn't even know it was possible to skate like that. She was so graceful and fluid in her movements. Absolutely beautiful, and I am so glad that you shared this!

gmarch53 said...

What a STAR!!!

Choleesa said...

aw man, I am soooo jealous, I NEVER was able to master the art of skating backwards, let alone THOSE kinds of moves...

Sarah said...

Coming from a girl who both roller skated and roller bladed, and was never very good at either, this is amazing!

Thanks for sharing! I never even learned how to stop properly in roller blades...the toe-stopper on skates seemed more logical to me!

Ms. G said...

Wonderful!!! You have no idea how big this made me smile but I assure you it was HUGE!-That's not a shout-well it's a happy shout. Beautiful : )

also, seeing that wood floor almost made me cry. We don't have a good rink anymore.

Furry Bottoms said...

I loved to roller skate when I was a kid. Every single Saturday and Sundays were spent roller skating, but I've never done a routine like that. This brings back memories!

Barbara said...

Oh, I'm so glad you left it up so I could see it! Amazing and beautiful - I loved to go to the skating rink, but never mastered more than (awkwardly) circling the opposite way and doing the Hokey-Pokey! I couldn't even skate backwards. I'm so impressed with your baby! I keep meaning to get one of those digital recorders and save my VHS tapes but haven't done it yet. You should consider it, too. These are priceless!

Katie said...

What a beautiful routine, and what fun to watch it with your daughter. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us. : )

Chana Meddin said...

OMG! My JAW DROPPED OPEN for a coupla reasons! When I grew up, four-wheel skates for just for funnin' around with all our friends at the local rink THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I HAVE EVER SEEN ANYONE DO AN ACTUAL CHOREOGRAPHED ROUTINE ON FOUR-WHEELS! 2) WHAT TALENT! 3)As a former short-track speedskater, i NEVER looked that good! PLEASE, PLEASE LEAVE THIS UP, I FOUND IT WONDROUS BEYOND COMPARE and so much work went into producing it and, seriously, it is beautiful to watch, and I cheered the ENTIRE time!!! Why did she stop? (you too close to a nervous breakdown?!)

AguiLeon.com said...

nice stuff, i like to try the roller skate

Vicki Lane said...

Oh my goodness -- how talented! Thanks so much for sharing!

So. Cal. Gal said...

That's awesome! And it reminds me that my dad never went to any of my piano recitals. lol!

Peggy K said...

I get the whole heart racing thing. But this is beautiful!!! I've never seen a routine like this on rollers. I had no idea!! OMG, this is just wonderful. Get those transferred to DVDs, ASAP!! And leave this video up. As a tribute to your daughter's talent!!

Deborah said...

Fabulous! I loved it.

Joy Tilton said...

Loved the trip down memory lane, complete with video! Your daughter was perfection, that was a beautiful routine. Loved Dad in the background too! I remember the old video cameras that were huge, so heavy to lug around but we did it, didn't we? Aren't we glad we did...

Momma Fargo said...

I remember all those things and dang it I missed the video! I miss the old days sometimes. It really was Ward and June times.

Shrinky said...

Your daughter takes my breath away, she is so effortlessly elegant and beautifully acomplished - it must take an enormous amount of strength and courage, together with tons and tons of hard work to reach this level. AND YOU COACHED?? Wow, you have my total respect - I can only imagine the dedication that requires.

Sounds like you and I were both doing the same thing last week - I had a bunch of old VHS tapes converted onto DVD's last Christmas, stuff I haven't seen in a decade and more. I finally gave myself the luxury of time to load them all up to edit on the computer (I had the annoying habit of continuing to record after putting the lens cap back on, so yards and yards of nothing is laced into every tape)!

Seeing those old movies sure did my old heart some good. (Smile)

~mel said...

Sweet sweet memories. A few weeks back we dug out the old vcr home movies when the grandkids spent the weekend. They sure got a kick out of it:)

Lisa said...

I loved it! First, she was amazing. It's odd - my stomach started twisting up in nervousness watching that. I think it brought back so many memories of sitting and watching Taekwondo competitions, rhythmic gymnastics meets and dance competitions and performances.

That horrible, sick to your stomach nervous feeling that competes with pride. I remember it well!

Jenny said...

Oh wow. Wow. I'm all kinds of impressed.

I hear you on technology. The movers told me they hadn't seen a TV like ours in a long time.

I told them it was an antique. They said they just thought it was ridiculous heavy.

Flat screens? I-pads? I-phones?

None of 'em here.

AND

I still like turning the pages on books, too.

Sarah said...

Awww how sweet it is! If we don't have our memories we don't have much, right? So good you took it and kept it. The nice memory within your kids will be priceless.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Wow, she was really good! This was really sweet and reminds me of my white skates with red wheels. I was so clumsy, though, I could barely move in them.

xoRobyn

Anonymous said...

What a treasure. I smiled through the entire routine and grinned when she kicked up her leg at the end. Thanks for sharing a priceless memory Mrs. A.

Gina Gao said...

Amazing video. Really liked this post.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

@NativeMikeAdams said...

wow...I'm impressed. That was great. Thanks!

Momma Fargo said...

Got back on with a computer that worked. LOL.

That was fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing. Can't even imagine how proud and how nervous you were at the same time!

Help! Mama Remote... said...

Amazing!!!!!!!She looks adorable and has.so much grace.

Betty Manousos said...

oh my word, that's amazing!!
your daughter is very talented.

loved it!
thanks so much for sharing your memories and your video with us.

btw. i LOVE your writing style as well.

big hugs!

ancient one said...

WOW, WOW, WOW, I loved this. My children could roller skate a little but nothing like this. This was wonderful. I loved how your husband could yell for his daughter and still keep the camera so steady. You definitely have some treasures here! Loved, loved, it!!!

Katherines Corner said...

How wonderful. Thank you so much, truly for sharing this precious memory with us. I watched your very talented daughter and I could feel your pride. She was awesome. Hugs and happy weekend wishes!

troutbirder said...

Wow. You did good. Technology is amazing but sometimes I think I liked the fifities better...:)

Unknown said...

Skating..... One of the things I was never good at.

I envy you people :P

We go with the flow. Everything should be better, but the law of the universe stated that everything will get what it deserve...

if something goes better, something else will be worse.

Killjoy me :P

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Oh my gosh girl, that was magnificent. Roller skates are much harder to maneuver than ice skates are.

Your girl was a real champ as I'm sure she still is today.

God bless and have a fantastic day sweetie!!! :o)

Alexandra said...

So very, very lucky that you have this.

Farida said...

Ms A, I'm glad that you were able to capture that moment. Viewing it will truly bring back old feelings as you reminisce "the moment."

Wish I could skate too.... :)