Why has this upset me so much?

[makeasandcastle]

I had a lovely moment with toddler DC earlier and was so pleased because I thought I'd managed to catch it on video. Went to watch it back and, you've guessed it, had pressed the wrong button and missed the lot.
It was just a few seconds but it was so sweet and now the moment's gone. It's not something we'll be able to recreate and I'm so disappointed that I won't be able to see it again. I feel so silly, but I'm gutted

You've taken the joy out of the situation yourself here.

You had a lovely, sweet, moment with your dc, and instead of looking back and smiling how great it was, you're upset because it wasn't caught on video (which you wouldn't look at again after a couple of weeks anyway)

Sometimes it's OK to enjoy things, and be present in the moment, without worrying about capturing it forever.

Ah don't worry. Can you write down what happened instead? You'll still have the memory. I sometimes do this as a FB status for cute or funny things that happen so that they pop up as memories.

I remember being absolutely gutted one day because we'd been at baby swimming and a photographer had been there that week. I'd wrestled with my conscience over whether to dunk DS2 for the underwater photo and decided to even though I wasn't sure. He hated it and was quite upset by the experience. And the photos turned out so bad that it wasn't even worth it. But I was so upset by the whole thing, the fact that I probably wouldn't get the opportunity to take that kind of photo ever again, that he wouldn't be so little ever again, how lovely his hair (bright red) had looked flowing in the water behind his hands which were clenched over his face

I don't know why it just felt so important and I was really close to tears all day even though we were on a tram!

The very next week the swimming lessons were cancelled because if covid lockdowns and of course some time has passed now and it really doesn't matter at all. But I do remember being very upset by it at the time.

This is understandable however you will always remember this moment, and there will plenty of other moments which you will be able to capture.

For perspective, consider that it's only relatively recently that people have been able capture spontaneous moments in their lives on video. Go back a few years and you'd have had to set up a camcorder. Go back a few more years and you'd have to set up a cine-camera! Be glad that you will be able to capture other moments in the future.

Replay it in your head. Anytime you like.

You're all absolutely right of course and I'm so grateful to even be having these experiences. But for some reason it's really got under my skin today how precious and fleeting these childhood moments are.
And I'm sad for DH who also thought I was filming something special, so I feel like I've let him down a bit too