I can't begin to tell you about the birthday gift my daughter gave me this year. She had painstakingly gathered all the long forgotten and unwatched-for-30-years home movies ever made of 'the family' - her family - and shipped them away to be made into DVDs. These movies were made in the first 10 years of her life. Movies of her and her sister's first steps, of family Christmases, of trips to the beach, of travels to Ireland, of swimming, of a cottage, of a much remembered trip to South Carolina with my then teenage brother and sister and our two young children.
There are cherished snippets of my mother before she died and of my grandmother. Movies of a brother's wedding where our daughters were delectable flower girls and the wedding reception in our house. (His bride died tragically young). And many more.
It is right up there in the exalted list as one of the BEST GIFTS EVER. Thank you, sweetheart if you are reading this. A million thank yous.
Here is something I wrote in an attempt to crystalize my countless emotions in watching the DVDs.
The Way We Were
Were we that young?
Were we that loving?
Did that song say it all
About the way we were?
The story of each scene
Takes my breath away
More than it did then,
At the way we were.
My parents light up
And my granny too
Surrounded by love
In the way we were.
And those little girls
In their frothy dresses
Giggling and laughing
By the way we were.
The screen flickers on
With our loving glances
I switch off and mourn
For the way we were.
