Archiving

So I'm working on archiving around here - a task that I have put off over and over again. Old home movies, new videos, prints, digital photos, albums... I'm trying to get it all backed up on DVD or organized in books and boxes. Above are super 8 reels from 1974-82 that my dad shot. I haven't seen them in about 20 years but I've had them sitting in this box and they aren't going to last forever. There are notes written on the cases indicating my first steps, my younger brother being brought home, a trip to Mexico, the beach house, birthday parties. Not many people my age have moving documents of these events like we do for our children now. They are worth preserving even though it will cost a pretty penny. I'm eager to pick up the DVDs and watch them in a few weeks. I have a picture in my head of what my great grandmother's house and land looked liked to me as a child that I explore in my head occasionally as I'm trying to go to sleep. Will I be surprised by what it really looked like? As I go through all of this I'm reminded that we can only hold on to so much of the past. We can't nor should we document and preserve every last detail but rather enjoy the present.