Be Kind, Rewind.

“Be kind, rewind.” 

It’s funny how a phrase from one’s 1990s youth can become the inner plea of a middle-aged mom.

Be kind, time. Please rewind to the good ol’ days of Blockbuster, VHS rentals, 35mm film cameras, Walkmans, landlines, dial-up, and AOL Instant Messenger. 

Be kind, please. I beg you to at least rewind time with these growing kids so that I can savor the fleeting moments once more. 

It’s a summer evening; a sleepover night. I take my teen daughter and her friends to the only Blockbuster that exists these days, the public library. Suddenly, I’m boring them with tales of prehistoric slumber party shenanigans. 

“When I was your age…,” I cringe as the words leave my mouth. But I continue. 

I continue reminiscing about the feelings of excitement and possibilities that the Blockbuster blue and yellow represented; the walks between rows of videos with the prized membership card in hand; the previews at the beginning of a movie that were sometimes the best part; the thrill of waiting for a new release that you missed in the theater months prior.

We now live in an age of instantaneous, unlimited choices. Anticipation and the need for patience are fading like the aging signs of former video rental stores. Physical actions and human interaction are becoming as rare as VHS tapes. Is it just me, or do these technological advancements geared towards simplicity seem to be changing the very definition of simplicity?

Or am I just old?

I may no longer own a VHS player, but the older my kids get, the more I find the player in my mind rewinding to those good ol’ days, whether it’s the simpler, digital-free days of my youth or the first precious months and years of their earthly existence. 

I browse the two library racks of DVDs, with spines facing out in true library fashion instead of the eye-catching covers. Don’t get me wrong, library fashion is one of my favorite kinds of fashion, but it’s a far cry from the movie-selecting experiences I had with my friends.

And I’m sad for these girls—

Until their giggles fill the quiet library.

The truth is, the youth of today are still creating fun memories they will cherish and look back on with their kids. And part of those experiences are shaped by 1990s-loving parents and their shenanigans. It’s a pretty cool cycle. It’s a unique blend of present and past. It’s accepting the current age we are in while preserving and sharing the best parts of the good ol’ days, like anticipation and physical interactions. 

Their laughter brings me back to the library, back to the present. And I am overwhelmed with gratitude for libraries. And the present. 

The present is all we have. And it’s just as precious. 

These, my friend, are the good ol’ days.

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