A couple of years ago, my cousin’s son set out to help me with a project.

Mason is quite smart – off the chart smart, especially when it comes to tech, so I enlisted him to digitally transpose all my VHS tapes before they were no longer legible. As tapes age, they lose a lot of their quality, and I was wanting to preserve as many as possible.

So, I boxed all my precious memories up –it was a very large box – and mailed them to him.

Well, as with most teens, Mason had way more fun things to do than fool with my old tapes and they sat at my cousin’s house for quite some time.

I wasn’t worried or upset. I mean he was doing, or at least was planning to do, me an enormous favor.

But more time went on and I guess my cousin figured her son would never complete the task, so once again the tapes were packed up and handed off to a professional company that transposes analog video.

I don’t know if any of you have ever checked into the cost of converting your old tapes into a digital format, but it ain’t cheap. So, when Mason called to let me know his mom had sent them off, and that she was going to pay for the service, I about hit the floor.

My cousin is a very generous person, but this was just over the top. I called her up and insisted I reimburse her, but she was not having it, so when the box arrived back at my house along with the six thumb drives, I was flooded with emotion.

Obviously, I have since sat down to enjoy those days gone by, which have included dance recitals, my now-grown children putting cookies and milk out for Santa and there was even the sonogram when I was pregnant with my last child.

Most of these videos were taken by someone else – either hubby or as for the dance recital tapes – the videographer who had been hired to record the performance – because I was always more inclined to watch in real time.

To hold and record using a camcorder was cumbersome, and it always felt like I was missing out since my view was obstructed by the device.

So, to say I am thankful for those who did record is an understatement. There is nothing quite as valuable as recollecting those precious moments of the past.

With the dawn of cell phones, recording has become a lot easier and definitely less cumbersome.

And because of this I have been more inclined to record. But I have to admit, while a cell phone is not nearly as bulking and heavy as the old video cameras, there are still times I just like being in the moment with nothing barring my view and allowing my memory to capture those special happenings.