Looking Ahead

Next week is my birthday, and I’m pretty excited about it. I love my March birthday because it almost always coincides with real spring arriving. My birthday present from nature is always flowers.

The house I grew up in has dozens of different kinds of daffodils, irises and tulips planted by the first owner of the house. The flowers have bloomed and thrived since she planted them in the early 70s, about the same time I was born.

I wish I had pictures of the bouquets I picked for my mother when I was little, or even film of us four kids playing in the yard. Spring was spectacular at our house. My mother has a green thumb I did not inherit, and our large yard on a mountain in the country was always blooming with something.

Now when I think of all the moments of my life preserved only in my memories, it’s a reminder to stop and shoot a quick picture with my phone. I’ve heard it’s almost a problem how people are living life through the screens of their devices and not living in the moment. I think my problem is the opposite. I just forget to take a few seconds to preserve the moments, both large and small.

So many Christmases, Halloweens, and birthdays I’ve forgotten to take one picture or one second of film. Those moments are in my mind, but fading every day.

This is not much different than taking the photos, videos, and film you did take and hiding them in a closet or drawer until they are so old or damaged by time that they are useless.

I’ve finally liberated some photos from a family member’s garage. The pictures date as far back as the 40s and haven’t been out of a storage container in the seventeen years since my grandmother died. I can’t wait to have the photos of my grandparents transferred to a dvd and available on the Cloud. It will be my present to my dad for his birthday next month.

I’ve been working with the media transfer company YesVideo for several months now, and this is my last post for them. I’ve only been asked to give my honest opinion, and I’m very please to do so. I can’t recommend them strongly enough as the company you want to use to safe your family’s video memories. I recently found out they just don’t make digital copies of photos, video, films, and slides, but also scrapbooks and thumb drives. Now you can rescue all those pictures on your first digital cameras and your current cell phone cameras. Honestly, have you made a real picture out of any of those shots? Free them and enjoy them!

And if you have a website, YesVideo has an embed feature that’s quick and easy to use. Just go to your account and grab embed code for any “chapter” of your saved videos. Here’s one of mine from almost twenty years ago. My sons are playing on the playground behind the university housing we lived in.

YesVideo is having a spring sale through the end of March for 20% off your order. Just use code YVSPRING when you order your EasyShip kit from the company.

As my present to you, I’m giving away a $30 gift card to YesVideo. It’s my own card, and you can access it online through Target, one of the company’s retail partners.

Neither YV nor Target are responsible for this giveaway. To enter, just visit the YesVideo website and tell me something you learn from the company homepage. I’ll draw a winner and notify them via email next week on March 18. I love giving presents on my birthday!