This Sunday I had breakfast with Santa. You remember those days, don’t you? Asking for everything Power Rangers, a pair of roller blades, a pogo stick, etc. The good old days when we got gifts by the bunches and it seemed like we had a hundred presents to open. Before we grew up and asked for a video game system or a laptop and knew we were getting all or nothing that year, consuming our parents’ gift fund for us mostly on one gift.
Turns out, kids aren’t kids anymore. Eight year olds have become the new teens. I heard a little girl ask for the new iPad2, “Not the old cheap one Santa, I want the new one with the camera”. I’m a grown up and I can’t even afford those toys. Are parents really giving into these demands and skimping on gifts for themselves so their six year old kid can watch Sponge Bob videos on YouTube? Let’s hope that’s all they’re doing on there, I know what I did on my first computer and I sure wouldn’t want any kid younger than 16 doing those things. This year parents, I give you permission to take back Christmas and give them that pair of pajamas you’ve been eyeing, and give them toys that run on their imagination not a power cord!
We live in a digital world: pictures, songs, newspapers-everything’s moved to the internet. Soon, kids won’t know what film cameras or camcorders are. “Film, what’s that dad? I didn’t know there was any other kind of camera other than digital.” I’m in my twenties and wonder if my kids will ever flip through a photo album with me.
Vacations, holidays, birthdays, your first day of school; growing up was celebrated on film. I loved flipping through photo albums every once in a while with my parents and reliving those moments. Bad smiles, awkward poses, people not ready for the flash, and of course the unexplainable blurry photos that showed up far too often. “Did dad take that one?” “Was the film ruined or did someone take a picture of the back of my head by accident?” Photo albums were free fun, and a great way to bond.
What will I have to share with my kids? “Hey Tommy want to see what daddy looked like in high school? Let me bring up my facebook profile and I’ll show you.” With today’s digital cameras and camera phones, pictures are taken and deleted in an instant, lost forever. The fun of photos used to be having no option, but to keep the bad pictures you took and laughing at them later.
I actually know what my parents looked like in their heydays: my dad’s 70’s porn stash, jean short shorts, tube socks, and all. It’s only fair to share my bad haircuts and sleepy Christmas mornings, along with a picture of everything I got that year, with my kids. I’ve missed out on some years, being sucked into the digital wave, but I plan on getting my life back on film. I want those times when I sit down with my family and flip through all the memories, good times and bad, and appreciate one of life’s simple joys. So this year, I’ll ask for a film camera and never delete a bad photo again.
