Goodbye, Old Friend

We said goodbye to a good friend this week, a friend who has been there through thick and thin, good times and bad. Our beloved Nikon CoolPix has bit the bullet.

We've had this little camera for a couple years now. After much nit-picking, scrutinizing and Michelle's amazing coupon negotiating skills, we finally switched to the Digital Age and left 35mm behind. It was the perfect camera: fit in your pocket, shoot video, leap tall buildings in a single bound and much more.

Many of the pictures on this blog have come from that little camera -- The Greatest Little Camera in the World has been Growing Up Kaitlyn before there was a Growing Up Kaitlyn. It was there when Kaitlyn was born, when she took her first steps, trips to the zoo, when she farted and had diarrhea but Michelle wouldn't let me post the video even though it was one of the funniest things I ever witnessed in my life. It's been there for many major moments.

It's gone to California, Las Vegas, New Jersey and Myrtle Beach. And that's where our wonderful little CoolPix finally met its end.

I don't know if it was being smashed at the bottom of the beach bag, the minuscule wind-swept sand particles or the constant beating from Kaitlyn playing, but halfway through our trip the Greatest Little Camera in the World went kaput. The ugly grey screen, complete with its "Lens Error" message and buzzing, is still taunting us.

So it's time to finally say goodbye. I've already scoped out the possible replacement cameras and, sufficed to say, I'm not impressed. Don't know what it is, but something was just perfect about our Nikon.

But I'm sure we'll find another Greatest Little Camera in the World. It just won't have the memories of this one. But I guess we'll have to make new ones.