1983

My kids wanted to watch old videos. So I am sitting here watching Christmas 1983. I was 9. My mother was 37. In the video are my Grandma, Retha, my Granddaddy, Earl. My dog, Bo. My mother is so proud of her German Chocolate Cake, and all are having a good time. This was before abusive marriages, before any understanding of adulthood. Before responsibility. Before work, before cell phones and computers and Internet. It was a video camera and we were about the only people we knew that had one. My dad was so proud of it...nowadays you are generally just expected to have one! My mom and grandma are preparing Christmas dinner. I loved seeing myself on TV. The wonders of technology. But the years march on. The funnies thing--my mom is wearing a dress that, about 10 years later, I wore in a stage production as costume. We have snow on the ground Christmas 1983. My brother sits trying to convince my grandfather that Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, and other rockers...are okay kinda guys. Not sure how MJ made it into the rocker group, but hey. Grandaddy looks at the pictures my brother shows him, and notes the chains and lack of a shirt on these guys and wonders why they can't dress decently and just sing! Ahh the good old days. My mother is giving my dad the dirty look of "Don't get me on that thing!" but I'm so glad he did. My kids get to see Grandma before she was Grandma, before cancer, before arthritis, before so many health problems, before gray hair. I love old videos.