Not Fast Forwarding Through Life

After enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast prepared by my wife, Lori, taking in a fair amount of football and spending a fun day with my kids and friend, Greg, I closed out the evening by watching the Adam Sandler movie Click.

In the movie Sandler plays a man, Michael Newman, who works too much and doesn't seem to find the time to spend quality time with his family. One evening he ventures out into the night to find a universal remote that will control all of his electronic gadgets, but instead he is given a remote that will control his universe.

With a click of a button Michael can skip through arguments with his wife, mute his barking dog and avoid life's trivialities like traffic and showering. He initially enjoys the power that having the remote holds, but he begins to have regrets as he realizes that he is missing large portions of his life. He misses milestones in the life of his children and takes for granted his rapidly aging parents.

You wouldn't expect an Adam Sandler movie to do more than make you life, but surprisingly Click is cut from the same mold as A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life. It is a gift to be able to take stock of our life before it is too late. Although many of us devote the bulk of our time to our work, we don't have to allow it to control our lives to the detriment of our family. The scene here is when he is older and is trying to make up for lost time with his son, Ben. In their interaction Michael learns that his own father has passed away and he's missed it. He rewinds to the last time he saw his dad. (Click here if the player doesn't show up.)


I've been on vacation this week and have been able to enjoy a lot of quality time with Lori and the kids. We've laughed a lot, played games together and enjoyed our unrushed meal times. I was reminded yesterday how thankful I am for my wife and children, for my parents, for my sister and her family, for my in-laws and for all my friends. Even though my children are still fairly young, I realize that they will be grown before I know it. I need (and want) to enjoy the little things in life since once those moments are in the past I can never "rewind" to them again. Don't forget to tell the most important people in your life that you love them. You'll never regret it.