When I think about my grandparents I have vague memories of spending time at their homes. My mom’s parents were grandmother and grandaddy and they lived in a little town in East Texas. We loved sitting on their screened in porch and enjoying small town life. We would walk to the corner store with pennies to get a snack. My dad was raised by a single mother and her extended family. Nanny lived in a big two story house that she used for her catering business and as a tea room for women’s groups. There were always cousins around and we ran up and down the stairs and played in the Magnolia trees in the yard. I have a few pictures of my grandparents, but nothing that captures their voices or movements.

My parents and in-laws were loving grandparents to our son, but they lived a few hours away so we mostly saw them at holidays and special events. I would print pictures of Trey to send to them and a few times I compiled videos to share. Trey’s last grandfather died when he was in college, so he knew him a little better than the others. When the Timehop app brings up pictures of the family members that have passed, the still image reminds me of times we shared.

Technology has changed greatly in the last 20 years. Instead of having to wait several day for a picture to be developed, or transferring video from tape to tape, pictures or a video can be sent instantaneously. On my birthday this year, I received the cutest video from my son of my granddaughter telling me “Happy Birthday.” In true The Office style, she started the video telling me that “It’s Your Birthday!” Then she moved into birthday wishes and her own unique rendition of the Birthday Song. That thirty-four second video ties us together in a manner that a card or picture could not. This morning I got another video of her pretending to call me on the phone (which was actually her dad’s pickle ball medal). As she ended the call she said “I love you.”

What a gift to receive these short bursts of her life through video or picture. Although I see her almost every week, knowing that she is thinking of me as she goes about her regular schedule lets me know that we are building memories that she will have when she approaches fifty and thinks back on our relationship.