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2004-03-07 Memories Last night, after the movie, my parents suddenly decided to watch some "home videos" for some odd reason. Not that watching them is odd, but at 2am, it kinda was. I declined so I could go to bed because I wanted to get up at a decent time today. However, as I was reading in bed, I could hear my mom killing herself laughing. I knew which tape she was watching, but I didn't know what was so funny. When I was younger, my parents, sister and I would drive down to Vermont for a week to two weeks every summer. My great-aunt and uncle on my dad's side had a trailer in a really nice trailer park - their lot faced Lake Champlain, and so we always said they had the best view in the park. I always loved it there so much because the time there was always so filled with activity: going out on other people's motorboats to find really nice spots on the lake to go swimming, swimming in the inground pool in the park, going to the craft fair in Swanton and going on the rides at night, going to the big shopping center in Burlington, visiting with the people who also spent their summers there, playing Balderdash well into the evening. I also loved it because it was so peaceful. I'd often go sit on the rocks after dinner and look out at the lake, and I was allowed to go for walks around the park by myself because we basically knew everybody there. I haven't been there in years, and now my great-aunt and uncle are giving up their lot because for one thing, they're getting on in their years, and for another, it's getting to be too expensive. I miss it, and it's really sad that I'll probably never get there again. Anyway, the video was of my cousin's wedding near the trailer park. I was nine and the flowergirl (which I was *very* proud of). I watched some parts of it this afternoon. My mom especially liked one part where Sherry and I were doing some dance to a song that Sherry had rehearsed for a variety show in high school. She had taught me all the moves, but I've always been terrible at remembering choreography. But in the video, she had managed to get me up there, and there I was, staring up at my big sister, trying to copy all her moves. My mom said, "Just look at that. You're looking up to your big sister." And I did, in both the literal and figurative sense. In fact, I still do. I noticed that everytime I was up there dancing, I was right next to Sherry. She never let me dance by myself because she knew I was shy and probably would sit at the table all night if left to my own devices (despite the desire to get up on the dance floor). Of course, there was one point in that evening when I wasn't dancing with Sherry. When my cousin threw the bouquet that night, I was bound and determined to catch it. Well, I didn't exactly catch it as much as I dove for it when it fell on the floor. On the video, you see my face all alight and giddy, running to my parents to show them. And then the embarassment came. Little did I know what went along with catching the bouquet. Little did my nine-year-old self realize that catching it meant the man who caught the garter would have to put it on my leg the way the groom took it off the bride: with his teeth. You don't see my face on the video, but I remember that my face must have turned 10 shades of purple. Then I had to dance with this older man in front of everyone. This may seem very inconsequential to you, and it indeed seems so to me now, but at the age of nine, I thought I was going to die from embarassment. Luckily, the dj took pity on me and invited others up to dance to the song so that some of the attention would be diverted from me. Of course, I never gave a thought to how embarassing, and maybe disappointing, it must have been for the guy to be sliding a garter onto the leg of a nine-year-old with his teeth. The video then shows the following day when we're back at the trailer park and eating our lunch. That's when I found out what my mom was giggling about last night: my sister, the comedian. I had forgotten about her Pee-Wee Herman imitation, which she did at the picnic table while we tried not to choke on our corn amidst our laughter. Then the video switches the day we're leaving and packing the car. Sherry, claiming the sleeping bags are too heavy and stumbling all over the grass. Sherry, telling my great-aunt to throw some small, soft ball at her head so that she can fall down on the ground. Yes, my sister can be quite the nutcase. It was great to watch that video. I've never been big on home movies, but today I realized their merit: they keep the past alive, they remind us of things we've forgotten, little moments that made us happy, or made us laugh.
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