technical difficulties

The other day I watched as my daughter pushed her 36lb. brother around the house on our mater sit and push toy. I was amazed that she was strong enough to accomplish such a feat and rushed to grab my camera. Of course I wanted to document this momentous event. I got a few really cute ones and some action shots as well as a full minute of Sophie giggling with each step and push, and Mason exclaiming "Sophie's pushing me Mommy. She's strong." I couldn't help but smile the whole time. A somewhat rare but becoming a more common scene of these two getting along. The older she gets the more he is able to interact with her and vice versa.

I immediately thought to post the video to facebook. Wouldn't all my friends get a kick out of it? So I sat down at the table and hooked up the camera to my computer and waited. A few moments went by and iPhoto hadn't popped up. That's strange, I thought. So I checked my camera and it was turned off. Hmmm, did I forget to turn it on? So I just hit the power button again and the most horrifying words pop up on the LCD screen of my camera. No Image. Now picture me sitting there, eyes bugged out, mouth agape, frozen. What!? No image. That can't be right. Maybe they uploaded already and I missed it. Heart pounding, breath held, I click on the iPhoto window in my nav bar. Scroll down to the bottom and see no new photos. Shoot. Except I didn't say that word. Taking deep breaths I shut off the camera and unplug it from my computer, then plug it back in. Thinking this might help, praying and hoping this might help, and when I turn on my camera the photos will miraculously be there again. Still no image.

Wha...Wha....Noooooooooooooooo!

It finally sinks in. All the photos and video I had on my camera are lost. Gone forever. I feel that catch in my throat. Close my eyes and try to remember what photos were on there. The play area at Tysons Mall, Sophie at Gym class, the kids on mater today and something else. Something the other day......oh damnit why can't I remember? I feel the panic and the tears fall, splattering my keyboard in small drops as if in slow motion. Trying not to let the panic overcome me, I take my SD card out of my camera and rush downstairs.

Fred is working from home and I am not more thankful for that than today. I beg him to put the SD card in his computer and see if he can find anything. Nada. Being the awesome husband that he is, he searches to see if there is something we can do to restore the photos and downloads a program. After about an hour and not finding the photos we are about to give up when we try one more program and, Voila! There they are. I feel my heart leap, excited. Hopeful we figured this out until I realize the free version doesn't give you access to restore the photos. You have to actually purchase the program to do that and guess what, it ain't cheap. Something like $50 and with money tight right now Fred gives me the look of Sorry babe.

I understand. He says if the photos were of something important....and I agree with him. It's not the best time to be buying programs we may or may not have to ever use again just for some photos that can honestly be reproduced (not exactly. But we still have two more gym classes left, and visit the play area on occasion and really would my kids disappoint by not pushing each other on Mater again? I think not.) though, on the inside I argue that they are important because they show our everyday, what are lives are right now. Moments we won't remember years from now. Still I accept the fate of my lost treasures, think of how to replace them with new, similar memories and silently but sadly mourn their loss.

I figured out that my battery, being low (though I never got the low batter indicator), sort of died on my camera after I plugged it into my computer. And if your camera is turned off mid upload (read/write process) guess what happens?

Sometimes I really hate technology.