By Daniella GrayShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA daughter’s nostalgic reason why she’s lucky to have videos of herself with her mom growing up has left internet users in tears.
Kelly Brouk (@motherknowswest_) shared a collection of family home movies in a reel on Instagram, many of them showing her as a young girl alongside her mother, Anna Bryan.
“I love watching our home videos and seeing life through my parents' eyes, especially now that I'm a parent myself,” Brouk told Newsweek.
...From sledding in the snow to Christmas mornings in the '90s and early 2000s, Brouk wrote on the text overlay: “You’re so lucky to have so many videos with your mom.”
In the final clip, the camera turns to a man in the mirror holding a camcorder dated February 20, 1993. That man is Brouk’s father, Ken Bryan.
In her caption, Brouk wrote: “Our luck, the man behind the camera, my sweet dad.”
“I didn't realize it at the time but as an adult, I recognize what a privilege it is to look back on my childhood so fondly,” Brouk said. “I have a much greater appreciation of the sacrifices my own mom and dad made to raise myself and my two sisters.”
According to Brouk, her dad Ken always had a camcorder on his shoulder, without letting it distance him from the moment.
“He's always been the most present dad and now ‘papa’ to his grandbabies,” she explained. “He still loves capturing moments—just on his phone now.”
Brouk's reel has gone viral on Instagram, amassing 16.7 million views and a further 1.4 million likes. Thousands of users left tearful comments, admiring the abundance of documented memories to look back on. One user even said they’d “give anything” to have a similar experience at home.
“One of the greatest gifts you can give is documentation of your life,” one user wrote.
“Oh my goodness as a single mom my heart is beaming this is so sweet,” another added.
A third commented, “My father was also the camera man! The only reason I have photos from part of childhood is because he took them.”
Brouk hadn’t anticipated this reaction. She was “shocked and saddened” by how many women shared that they wished their partners would pick up a camera as her father once did.
“I'm so glad my dad did just that for my mom and visa versa,” she added.
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